All my swimsuits

The month is flying by.  We can't believe it's almost November.

I'm sleepy.  I see I wrote I'm sleepy in my last post and here I am.  Sleepy again!

We haven't gotten to see the bunnies yet.  Leah's busy.  I ordered some horse mane and tail conditioner and one sponge today.  Can't wait to get them.  The sponge will be especially to clean under the dock (the tail) and the behind part.  It's a quick swipe that you do.  You need one sponge dedicated to behinds so you don't use it on their face.

Last night I got to thinking.  I was thinking about Evelyn.  She was 28 when I was 12 and I liked her a lot.  She was our family friend.  She had two daughters, Suzy and Shannon.  I miss Evelyn.  She died unexpectedly of hepatitis so young.  And I got to thinking of all my bathing suits I've owned, summer by summer, since I was about eight.  My first semi-swimsuit I remember is those ugly sunsuits from the 60s.  Evelyn's, the last summer I knew her, was a two piece pink swimsuit.  She was built like a brick house and she had a dark tan that summer, 1971. 

When I was about 9 or 10 I had a stretch polyester two piece that seems as I recall to have had a mock belt.  It was a raspberry color.  I remember it because I pushed myself from the shallow end to the deep end of the pool with a life preserver ring around my waist, only I accidentally pushed myself right through the ring and ended up in the deep end splashing frantically to get to the edge.  I didn't yet know how to swim.  I made it to the edge somehow.  My dad was watching me.  He can't swim.  lol.  I said, "Dad, what would you have done if I didn't make it?"  I think he said he'd jump in or get someone, I forget. It didn't exactly give me warm fuzzies.  Haha!

When I was 11 we lived in an apartment with a pool.  Funny I don't quite remember my suit, but I think it was a two piece blue and white plaid cotton swiss fabric.  When I was 12 I got a lime green one with my first cups.  I was so proud.  The dog ate it after I wore it only a couple times.  Just as well because I don't know how my folks let me wear it anyways.  I remember some guys looking at me at the pool and I wondered what they were looking at.  Not good when you're 12.  Good thing the dog chewed it.

The next one I remember is a gold/yellow one with flowers and white plastic rings in the bottoms and a nicely padded halter top style.  It made me look a little bigger up top and I loved that.  I must have been 14 or 15.  We went with Mrs. Poorman to the pool on the marine base as often as we could.  It was quite an ego building pool for two 15 year old girls.  My friend, Debbie, had a super cute swimsuit.  I think she let me wear it.  Did she?  I'm not sure.  Hers was with firm cups and ties on the sides of the bottom.  Purple and blues, flowers, I think,

When I was 16 I had a stripey one with bandeau top.  I remember it because I was with my schizophrenic boyfriend at his foster home and I got out of the pool to give him a hug and my top left a wet spot on his shirt.  We both blushed.

When I was 17 I stole one for my sister, a white one, and got caught.  My dad had to come pick us up.  I stole stuff a lot less often after that.  I quit when I was 19.

When I was 18 I was at a Jehovah Witness meeting at a stadium and my best friend's brother bought me a swimsuit because I didn't have one and I needed one because the whole family was swimming except for me.  In a rush, I got a white one with a flower pattern silk screened on it.  He was so sweet to buy it for me.  I didn't like it a whole lot, but it was okay.

I had an orange swimsuit with a cover for the belly when I was pregnant when I was 18.  I remember my sister's friend laughed at me as we got in the water at the beach, but I don't think it was a mean laugh.  I thought I looked pretty good for being round and I sure didn't want to stay home just because I was pregnant.

When I was 23 I had a really cute red and white striped bikini with white ruffles on the top.  That's the summer I met my husband.  We'd cruise Huntington Beach.  All the people did - checking each other out head to toe.  The sun felt good.  The sea felt good.  Water droplets evaporating from our bodies as we lay on our beach towels listening to "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits.

I don't really have any standouts after that.  I had a purple bamboo and flower pattern one piece bandeau top that I bought to wear to Tahiti in 1990 or so.  I liked it a lot and wore it till it wore out.  It and the stripey when I was 16 are the only two bandeau tops I ever had.  And when I was 35 it was a trip because my sister and I picked the exact same swimsuit except we lived in different cities and we didn't know each had selected the exact same suit.  Bright green with tiny flowers and padded push-up bra top.

I didn't write down any of the bad memory suits!  There was one.  That's my prerogative.