First Swim Day of the Summer

Today was the first family pool day of the year. And also the first time I've worn a bathing suit in over two years. I prepared myself by doing 60 minutes of hot power vinyasa. Then eating a not-insignificantly-sized sandwich, and two peanut butter cookies. Because that's the way I roll.
My basket of bathing suits has been on the upper-most shelf in my closet collecting dust and cobwebs... I haven't even glimpsed in its direction since I put it there when we first moved in last summer. I spent all last summer at the pool, but I wore my yoga pants and nursed Owen in the shade while the girls swam.
But today was the day... so I begrudgingly eased the basket down and put it on the edge of the bed. I don't know why I was hemming and hawing about it. It's just a darn bathing suit. But the basket seemed unfriendly and daunting sitting there on the edge of the bed. And I felt vain for caring in the slightest what a stupid bathing suit would look like. I rifled through the suits carefully. I picked one and put it on. It was relatively painless. Brooklyn came in just then and asked to see my suit. She was very interested in my selection, and it mattered to her deeply, as her serious face could attest. I took off my cover up and let her make her discerning assessment. "Mommy," she breathed. "It's beautiful." She may only be six, and she may be my biggest fan, but that was all I needed...
Next it was Owen's turn to put on his big boy bathing suit. Boy bathing suits are new to me, and I spent a good 10 minutes just admiring how adorable he looked in his swim trunks -- his chubby soft belly hanging over the waistband,  his pale bare arms chugging back and forth.
Next, after we got the 14,000 towels needed for our family and the millions of snacks required for a two hour trip, we hit the pool.
The big girls picked their chairs, dumped their stuff and immediately canon-balled in. I took O to the baby pool where he dipped his feet in, and found himself immediately digging the pool vibe.He splashed and played, while the girls swam their hearts out. It was a super fun afternoon. Looking forward to many more of the same this summer.