My boys officially smell of summer. And to me summer smells like sunscreen.
The ritual has begun – the spraying and lathering and rubbing into scalps of sweet smelling SPF 50 on blond hair and pale white bodies. {Sorry, boys, you may have got my blue eyes, but you also got these Dutch and British genes of mine!}
They love it. They stand – arms akimbo – and rotate slowly as I mist them. Teeny tiny waists astride gulping swimsuits that all but swallow their cute little patoots; hide their calves and brush just short of their ankles.
I could literally eat them up. But while I like the smell of sunscreen, the taste – not so much.
We wade into the water together.
Their tiny selves next to my not-so-tiny-self. And it makes me proud.
Because this body of mine that can’t ever seem to find a flattering suit, this body birthed those two boys. This body has seen life that the adorable taut, toned and tiny lifeguard girls on duty couldn’t possibly dream of yet.
This body has housed two miracles and it turns out that miracles need room to grow.
This beautiful amazing body has stretched to accommodate two sets of feet, two heads, two hearts, two sets of flexing limbs. This body is round where some say it should be flat; soft where some say it should be hard; and full where many others are running on empty.
This body knows what it is.
And it is much, much more than a swim suit.
What a great perspective! I’ll try to remember that the next time I think something on my body is a little too saggy that used to be perky.
What IS it about boys and how they smell in the summer? Sunscreen is part of it but there is also that sweaty-boy-head smell that my son sometimes has gotten back only minutes after a bath!
I’ll never wear the swimsuits of my youth again, but I agree… sitting on the beach in my tummy control suit, watching him play in the sand and water…. it doesn’t get any better.
I missed some precious times with my oldest because of swimsuit insecurity…not any more though! If they’re swimming, Ilm swimming!
FYI, the chemicals in most sunscreen are not so great for little ones. Check out mercola.com for more info. I’ve switched to Burt’s bees which comes in 30 is all natch, stays on and is available at Target.
Hey there!
I loved this post, and have enjoyed reading your blog. Thanks so much for stating so succinctly what should be obvious to society at large.
You seriously rock!
Sparrow
Amen sista! Thank you for this beautiful post and perspective! I love the way you are able to talk about your body with confidence and joy :) Thank you for this great reminder that I can truly LOVE the way God made me.
Woohoo! Yes, yes it is more than a swimsuit! Today as I put on that swimsuit for the first time since last summer (how did you know?), I will remember that I am more than my swimsuit! Thank you!
Blessings,
Tami
Have you been reading my mind??? We are at the beach this week and I just saw myself in pictures from the beach today… YIKES!!! I instantly felt old and fat. Thank you for the perspective. I feel much better now! Ready to go out there again today!
I’ve never had issues with wearing a swimsuit (go to any beach – you’ll find someone who looks worse than you =D), but I love the perspective. I would much rather spend time splashing with the boys than worried about how I look. They don’t worry about how I look – they worry about whether I’m willing to play!
Love it! Great perspective! I’ll try to remember this the next time I’m putting my suit on!
I loved this post!! What a wonderful way to look at this season!
“This beautiful amazing body has stretched to accommodate two sets of feet, two heads, two hearts, two sets of flexing limbs.”
YIKES! Wild to believe when you put it like THAT (and since I’ve had three kids, that’s SIX feet!!).
Great perspective since I’ll be strapping on a suit in less than an hour (begrudgingly) and remembering a different body. I wish I really REALLY believed EVERYTHING you say here; for now, I’ll just try :).
Sometimes I think I write these down as my best way of convincing myself! Just put on that suit and pretend you are working that princess dress and I think you will do just fine! You gorgeous thang, you!
I love this. You said it so much better than I could. When I say “nothing fits me” what I’m really saying is “nothing makes me look perfect.” I AM so much more!
It makes me want to put on my bathing suit and go splash in some water with my kids!! :) thank you for a lovely perspective!!
AMEN! I love a mother’s body – so full of life and nurturing needs rather than full of itself! Praise God for making us so wonderfully …
… and opening our eyes to see it the way HE does – not the way Hollywood wants.
great post – hottie!! =)
Stef
I blogged something similar to this last week…and although I haven’t birthed children (yet!) at 38, my body is not what it once was. And I had this sudden revelation: I don’t ever have to wear short skirts or shorts ever again!!! I’m 38 and it is perfectly fine to dress my age…I don’t have to fit into a junior size 6. :) It was freedom!
I agree! I just had a baby and I am proud of my little stretchmarks on my sides. I hate how the idea that a bathing suit isn’t as much for convenience (getting wet) as it is for showmanship (looking good in it).
I have not got children but I loved this perspective. I’m 21 and forever feel the pressure. I was at my local swimming pool the other day and this Mum was talking about how “ugly” she was in a bathing suit. She kept saying how the local swimming centre was the last place she wanted to be at. I remember saying to her “but you have 3 miracles that I know are just dreams to some women” – I think from that she wasn’t so bothered about her swimming suit any more :).
Great post! :)
Girlfriend – you are my HERO for saying that to that mom! Wise wonderful woman you are – and you are soo right too!
I will SO try to keep this post of yours in my mind this year… I just had our fourth little one four weeks ago and have already been putting pressure on myself about the ‘extra’ (you know the post-partum drill: tummy, thighs, arms, hips, ugh, ugh, ugh). How quickly I have gone from reveling in the miracle of creating and growing life to coming down hard on my ‘failure’ to lose all the baby weight. Oh yes, I will be trying to keep your words in mind!
You made me cry… (and in a good way.) Your perfectly timed message is something I need to remember everyday this summer. I just might have to print it out and post it on my mirror!
Off to the pool now, with my newly positive thoughts about myself.
Thank you.
You are a mom – that makes you beautiful and strong and very very brave! Don’t let a silly old swimsuit intimidate you!
Lisa Jo or ‘The Gypsy Mama’, You do not need to post this unless you want to, i don’t mind if you want to.
I have searched everywhere to send you a private message to no success, they have all come back as undeliverable..
There are 3 favors i want to ask of you and hope they will not cause any problems for you; if they do then please ignore them.
1- Do you have a e-mail address where we can contact you privately, or link?
2- Have you written a book or kept a journal that you have blogged it somewhere and it has most things in it such as:- Youth, teens, dating, marriage, pre-kids, pregnancys, travels and so on up to the present?
3- If you know how will you give me detailed instructions to how to ‘Download or Upload'(Whichever it is) a photo from my Computer to my blog page?
I shall be forever grateful for your help.
Thank you so much for all the things you have posted in these posts for i have thoroughly enjoyed them, and would love to read about your full & fulfilling life if i can. Thanks again. Alice.
Sincerely,
Alice Warren,
alw1926@hotmail.com
Thanks, I needed this. We started going to the pool across the street and I’m a bit aware of the “rocking mom body” I have going on. One of my thoughts when I start to get down on myself is, “It is not about you, this is about them.” That and the fact that I can get in the pool with them and play and swim! That is what matters.
Great post! Thanks, Lady!
Moms do rock – you rock! In all the ways that matter ;)
I love it. My husband often reminds me all that I’ve done with this body (3 kids in 3.5 years) but it’s so nice to hear it from another mom…saying this is OK, in fact it’s fabulous to have a mommy body! :)
Your husband is one smart dude!
I too, am currently struggling with the swim suit issue. I needed this reminder today! The six that have resided in my womb are where my true beaty lies, everything else is just skin deep!
Thanks!
Six?! You are a hero, a warrior, a peace maker, a joy sharer, a beauty – all the way to the core!
beautiful… *sniff*
You have a wonderful way with words. And thank you for helping me see my swimsuit in a less-awful light. :)
I should working for an ad firm, eh? “It’s not about the suit, it’s about the woman in it!”
I love this!
Why don’t we just love our bodies for what they can do, rather than berate them for what they DON’T look like? When we think about it, our bodies are quite amazing.
But we’re always trying to change them. I rode past an herbal store recently that had a sign that said, “Breast Enhancements: Buy 2, Get 1 Free”. I don’t know where the third is supposed to go, but I’m quite sure I’m happier with my body the way it is! :)
Sheila from To Love, Honor and Vacuum!
OK, you just made me swallow my lunch the wrong way I laughed so hard when I read that – a third indeed?! ;)
“This body has housed two miracles and it turns out that miracles need room to grow.”
Thank you for that! I so badly needed this perspective today, Lisa-Jo…
Amen! I try to remind myself of that every year. She ain’t what she used to be, but she’s all right. ;)
She’s got game in all the ways that count!
i’m soooo dreading putting on a bathing suit on our honeymoon! eeesh – I went to targhheet to find me a form-friendly-now-that-my-form-aint-what-it-used-to-be-suit…
but no such suit was to be found by me.
PUH-LEEZE!! I’m not buying it!
I need to print this and post it in my house. While I love, love, love most everything about Hawaii, the swimsuit thing is not one of them. Girl, most people here can rock a swimsuit (and a bikini)! It can get to me if I don’t do some serious truth telling to myself beforehand!
Fabulous post!
Hawaii would test even the skinniest mama’s bathing suit nerves, that is for sure! Head up high girlfriend, head up high!
Oh, Lisa-Jo!
This body housed two miracles….yes.
beautiful.
what a beautiful image, and way to look about it…
i am jealous of your sunscreen and lathering as we are heading into blustery winter here! brrrr :)
love you, today
Yes, but with your winter comes THE WORLD CUP!!! (I am trying very very hard not to hold that against you! ;)
oooo ahhhhhh I know it!!! I will take some photos and enjoy it for you. :(
What a marvelous day for South Africa!!!
Most of the previous comments have expressed my thoughts completely. Why oh why do I continue to focus on myself instead of those around me?
Make sure you go read the next post too; I’ve been asking the same question….
so true.
and hard to embrace…….
It’s so funny…I read this post AFTER I read the more current one.
You nailed just about every self-criticism I came up with.
I have no children to whom I can attribute the squishy, round parts.
I wish I did.
You are so right… summer smells like sunscreen :) thank you for putting so eloquently what we all feel… I love the part about the fact that the bodies that we carry need room to grow, and boy, did mine need room :) the stretch marks around my belly button make the shape of a sunshine… all three boys have added to the work of art, and I tell them it’s because they are my sunshines :)
Oh how I love that – body art – literally! ;)
I absolutely love this…
HOWEVER, have you SEEN my quad belly? Didn’t think so.