Life is Not a Rehearsal

Slightly Off-Center: Treat yourself to some fun this weekend

I'd like to thank Jack for her inspiring words yesterday. Jack writes a blog called Slightly Off Centre where she shares details about her life here in Halifax delightfully accented by great photography and wit.

In her most recent post, Jack embraces the oncoming spring and invigorates her readers by advising them to "shake all the doom and gloom" left over from the winter and to get out and enjoy life. What I found especially inspiring was Jack's reminder that "life is not a rehearsal". I found myself really considering this when I was replying to her question "what fun things do you have planned for the weekend".

As you of course read in a recent post of mine, I just bought a new bathing suit. As you all can appreciate -being the lovely and sensitive people that you all are - this was not an enjoyable experience. Well, that's not entirely true - my surprise bargain at the check-out was quite enjoyable.

For a while now I've been meaning to get a bathing suit so that I can start taking my kids swimming at the pool and later in the lake and beaches that we're lucky enough to have close by. Being dissatisfied with my "Mom" physique, I've been quite willing to stay fully clothed in the dark and cozy world of procrastination. Even though I know in my smarty-pants brain that it is simply unreasonable to deny myself and my kids the enjoyment of swimming simply for the sake of vanity.

So I guess that this weekend I will have to suck it up, put on my oh-so-flattering bathing suit and venture out to the public pool with the rest of the imperfect moms and dads out to show their kids a good time.
This will be hard. But my kids will remember that I went swimming with them and played my heart out and not that my belly is much bigger than it used to be. You know, before they knew me.

Besides, if I keep waiting to look smashing in my bathing suit (and expecting this to transpire by pure osmosis) I'll never get to go swimming with my kids.

And I really enjoy swimming.

And I'll always have the memory of how my sweet little 15 year old body looked in my florescent yellow and blue bathing suit the day that I met My Sweetest at Kinsac Lake all those many years ago....

...Just saying....