Hey Mom: Put on Your Bathing Suit & Get Your Hair Wet

I love swimming. I love swimming with my kids. 

I don’t love wearing a bathing suit in public (especially in the winter) and I don’t like getting my hair wet.  

The struggle is real OK.

It takes 45-50 minutes to make my wet hair look good dry. 

Does this sound ridiculous when I write it out?

YES.

It sounds absurd, absolutely absurd. If I told my son that the reason I didn’t want to swim with him was because I cared what people thought about me in my bathing suit or that I didn’t want to “do” my hair, I would be embarrassed for myself. 

But it’s true. 

It’s all true! 

I don’t tell my kids the truth.  I make up excuses, and that’s why many times I watch from the sidelines instead of jumping in the pool and having fun with them. 

This past weekend we visited The Chelsea Hotel in Toronto. 

They have a super fun family zone with an arcade, craft room and a pool with a corkscrew water slide. 

The day we checked in the kids were so excited to stay in the room and watch movies that we didn’t use the pool. 

The next morning they were standing beside my bed, with their bathing suits on and ready to GO swimming. 

I put my suit on and went to the pool. 

I sat in the jacuzzi with my husband and other parents. 

My daughter was hollering to me every time she went down the slide, “COME ON MOM, YOU GOTTA COME!”

My youngest son wanted to go so badly but he needed some courage.  He needed his Mom to do it with him.  

I know the best way to teach kids is to lead by example. Show them don’t just tell them.  

There’s a few things I’m afraid of; Heights, scorpions and the dark. 

My kids know my fears, they also know I’ve faced them (I’ve been skydiving multiple times). I’ve faced my fears to show them and myself that fear is usually just a state of mind. 

The corkscrew water slide was high and dark, two things I’m not fond of.  I also didn’t want to get my hair wet. 

My inside voice was yelling at me: “COME ON LADY!!  Your kid wants to go down the damn slide so suck it up and go with him!!”

So I agreed to go down the water slide.  We got to the top, he looked at me and said I’ll go first, you better come right after me, OK?”  I said, “I will”.  

Off he went. 

While I waited for my turn, the young kids in line behind me encouraged me and said “Don’t worry you’ll have fun, it’s not that scary”.  Did I mention they were maybe seven, at the oldest;)

Off I went.  I closed my eyes the whole time and yes, my hair got wet. 

I don’t like heights or the dark. The corkscrew slide in the family fun zone @chelseahoteltoronto has both of those things. But my youngest wouldn’t go until I did, so I sucked it up and went! He went first and loved it! I closed my eyes the whole time? #parenting #sundayfunday #familyfun #family #risktaker

A video posted by Michelle Ferreri (@mf2sense) on Dec 4, 2016 at 3:03pm PST

Now that my hair was wet and I was in the pool, I could enjoy my kids.  My 12 yr old and I hung out.  We did water aerobics and played volleyball.  We had fun, lots of fun. My son went down the water slide 26 more times.

Getting my hair wet and having my white legs and poorly manicured bikini area exposed didn’t matter one bit to my kids. NOT ONE BIT. 

I saw this video on Scary Mommy this past summer and it made me tear up.  It is so true.  Just enjoy your kids and don’t worry about your body or your hair or anything other than the memories you are making with your kids!

This public service announcement is as much for you as it is for me. 

MF