In which I hit the pool

I'm blessed with many great friends, some of whom have pools and are very generous with their invitations to use them.

Today I took the kids over to a good friend's pool for a playdate and while there caught a glimpse of myself, from the side, in her patio doors.

I look good! I thought to myself.

I can't remember ever thinking that about my appearance in a bathing suit.

Now, don't get me wrong, you won't confuse me with Heidi Klum in a bikini. I have a lot of sagging skin on my thighs and stomach from skin stretched out too far, which has lost its elasticity due to obesity. Sadly, nothing short of surgery would ever fix that.

Even worse, I have bingo wings large enough to take down St. Mary's Sunday night game at the Knights of Columbus. And that's a real bummer as my upper arms are getting some wonderful definition from boot camp, but you'd never know it because I refuse to go sleeveless due to the underarms.

Anyway, I'm realistic about how I look: like a relatively-fit, everyday Mom in a bathing suit. And, frankly, that's all I've ever wanted to look like.

I remember going to this pool last summer in a 3X suit stretched to its limit. I hated taking off my T-shirt and going in. I hated lowering myself in on the ladder, it was difficult to get my 280+ lbs in and as always I was paranoid I would break it. And trying to get myself out was not fun either, thank you gravity.

But this year it's different. My body may not be a 10, but it's mine and I've worked hard for it, flaws and all.