Sunday, April 21, 2013

Summer Time

SUMMER TIME:  I love the heat of the summer, tanning by the pool or ocean, smell of freshly mowed grass, flip flops, beautiful green foliage everywhere, outside festivals, and the length of the daylight hours. 

My least favorite and hardest thing to cope with during the summer is what to wear.  Due to my many surgeries I have a road map all over my torso, not to mention the under the skin bump, better known as my esophagus.  This makes it EXTREMELY difficult to find a swimsuit, tops and shirts that camouflage my scars, yet keep me cool.  Each time I go to shop for these items I all but break down into tears because of this daunting task.  Sometimes I handle it better than others.  This brings me to two different events.

Just recently I was shopping for high neck tops/shirts for the summer. As I was looking through the racks it dawned on me that all the other Ladies in the same store did not know how blessed they were to choose whatever fashion appealed to them.  I took about eight pieces to the dressing room and came out with two.  One that zipped up the front and the other that buttoned to the top.  How ridiculous I will look this summer with these two shirts up to my neck, but it is better than the alternative I would experience.  I made my purchases and later in the day called my Mother to tell her about my conquest of two shirts.

The other shopping excursion occurred earlier than the one just described.  I was again shopping for tops/shirts and I had an epiphany, that even though I could not choose what I would really like to wear I had money to buy what I could wear and thought that was a blessing.

The swimsuit issue was resolved by my more than EXTRAORDINARY Mother.  She found a wonderful Lady who professionally designs gowns, swimsuits, etc for pageants.  This beautiful woman graciously made me many swimsuits to die for.  I now have one of a kind suits and proudly wear them at the pool and beach.

Both of these shopping events probably happen to most women for some reason or another.  We must remember when we are thinking that someone has more choices than we do that is not necessarily so.   Be happy in the skin we are in for someone else's challenges may be greater.