Bathing Suits

Ever since I saw myself in the bathing suit from the cruise, I swore I would avoid black bathing suits for awhile. It's so obvious I bought it to look slimmer. But really. How is a bathing suit going to make me look skinny? That's asking a bit much. My quest now isn't to look 15 pounds lighter, but to have the appearance of bigger boobs. Adding instead of taking aways seems like a more realistic goal. This green suit I recently bought is cute, but didn't do the trick. I'm hoping this bathing suit from J.Crew (on sale for $26) will make it happen. I'm so proud how far I've come in the boob department.

I was a gymnast and spring board diver in my teen years. Boobs don't go well with those sports, so I tried everything to prevent them from developing. I remember watching Now & Then and feeling like kindred spirits with Christina Ricci's character as she duct tapes her boobs down flat.

And I'll never forget the moment I was reaching across my chest for a pencil in the junk draw in my kitchen and feeling the beginnings of boobs. I was around 10 or 11. Not helping matters was my mom's diagnosis with breast cancer around that time. I left the pencil in the junk drawer and walked over to the couch and sat for five minutes, just starring at the wall. I felt like my life as a kid was over. I was worried the next morning I would wake up and look like a fully developed woman.

It didn't happen. The process was much slower, but that didn't stop me from wearing the tightest sports bras under my clothes until I was in college. I associated boobs with fat and growing old. It wasn't until I met my husband Rob that I finally became comfortable with my body and ditched the sports bras. Before him, I hated my boobs. But look at me now! Buying swimsuits with one thing in mind: Bring on the boobies.

Pictures from the pool on our short trip to the St. Regis in Punta Mita, Mexico.