Water Park

I am on vacation this week. It’s the first vacation I’ve had in a while – particularly since WLS. Today we went to a water park. Normally, this would send me into a panic. In a bathing suit? In public? All day? Seriously people? What kind of torture do you expect me to undergo on my vacation anyway? Isn’t this supposed to be relaxing? I would have done it to appease my children, but I would have been miserable. Constantly thinking about what I looked like – what are people thinking of me? I would have been out of breath having to climb the stairs to all the different rides with the kids. I would have been frustrated by having difficulty getting in and out of tubes all day that were never made for a person of my “girth”.

But instead, I had a great day – so much fun. Playing with my children – being able to keep up with them – run up the stairs with them – help them on rides that they may have been too scared to go on by themselves. I still find myself worrying about what I look like and what others are thinking of me. I did not even wear a full bathing suit to the water park. I wore shorts and the top of a tankini I have.

The other thing that I was still struggling with is how I still have such a strong association with food when I am at a place like this. And yet, I can’t have the food that I still associate with it. I want it – I want it so bad. Frozen lemonade, dippin dots, soft pretzels. I swear if I heard one more ice cold soda open in front of me I was going to scream. But I survived. I had a little too much at lunch and subsequently paid for that in the bathroom shortly thereafter, but other than that I had a great day. My whole family is exhausted – it’s not even 10pm here and we are all in bed already. Thoroughly water logged and crispy fried from a day in the extreme heat of Missouri. It has been a great day.

P.S. Ladies, I plead with you – I am begging you! Find a friend – a good friend – someone who you trust to look at you and tell you if what you are about to wear out in public really looks as good as you seem to think it does. Because some of you ladies are out there wearing bathing suits you have absolutely NO BUSINESS wearing in public. Just because it is in style does not mean that style looks good on you. I am convinced that if some of you just had a decent friend to lovingly tell you that you look ridiculous – the world would be a better place.