Why I’ll Wear a Bikini After 40: Mom Style Files {#MSFILES}

According to the interwebs I have only four more months and then I need to pack up all my bikinis and give them to Goodwill.

Why you ask?

Because in October I turn 40 and I guess the sight of a 40 year old in a bikini might burn people’s retinas or stop the world from spinning.

You can’t see it, but I’m TOTALLY rolling my eyes right now.

Since when are there age restrictions on clothing?

Ok, maybe there might be on some … but a bikini? Come on. I know some rockin’ 40 year olds who look great in a bikini. Even Helen Mirren wore one and she’s 63.

I only own ONE one-piece and it’s for triathlon training. My other 15 swimsuits are bikinis. I have sporty ones, string ones, ones with boy bottoms and ones with animal prints {yes I really do}, and there’s no way I’m giving them up.

So, I’m bucking the trend and keeping my bikinis and here’s why…

1. I hate it when my stomach is sweaty.

It’s a fact. Summer in Iowa is hot and humid, and I just can stand being sweaty. Honestly when it’s over 100 degrees I’d run around naked if I could and if I didn’t have to sit down.

2. Bikinis make me feel less mom-like.

I like the way wearing a bikini makes me feel stylish and hip, and younger. There I said it, but it’s true.

3. I have no boobs, and I wear boy bottoms.

Nothing is hanging out or unsupported. I don’t care whether you 90 pounds or 190 pounds when you wear clothes that are too small, they look bad. Don’t worry about the size on the label, just buy something that fits well and makes you feel good.

4. I’m trying {really hard} not to care what other people think.

I have my own baggage when it comes to body image, and finally at the age of 40 I’m ready to just let it go. I’m going to stop caring what others think and just do what makes me feel comfortable {within the law of course}. Also, one thing I learned is that everyone else at the pool that you think is staring at you, measuring your thighs with their eyes. Yeah, they are actually worried about how they look and probably in truth admiring those thighs.

5. Because my husband and kids don’t really care.

They don’t, they just want to have fun by the pool, and I do to. I can’t have fun hiding under a towel, plus it’s hot under that towel and we all know how I feel about being sweaty.

I know all this may sound “easy” especially for someone like me.

For the past three weeks I’ve been participating in the #BodyLOVE challenge at The Misadventures of a Darwinian Fail and our Week 3 Challenge was all about lessons learned from a toddler…

She is blissfully happy and so full of life. She doesn’t waste time worrying about how her swimsuit looks – she just throws it on and jumps in the water. She eats her marshmallows with pure joy and abandon – never worrying about calories of the size of her jeans. And she feels confident because she is surrounded by love. That is how every little girl should feel. Heck, this is how every woman should feel.

Do you remember those days?

I do and I want them back.

I want to stop worrying about the size of my thighs or the tummy pooch. I’d much rather run with reckless abandon, without a worry in the world, feeling the warm sun on my face and the cool water between my toes.

So, when you are sitting in that dressing room trying to find the perfect swimsuit for your body shape and listening to the voices in your head,  just think about all the fun times you will have with your children wearing that swimsuit, or the fun vacations you will take or just the fact that you are at the pool and not at work.

It’s the little things that make all the difference.

That and if you got it flaunt it, because you only live once.

***Do rock the pool and rule the beach? Show us your photos and tag them #MSFILES and you will be featured in our Mission Beach wrap up.