I Felt God's love in the bathroom at Carribean Cove

Let me tell you why I love tankini's. It is not because they are so fashionable. I love tankini's because when you are at the pool with two little girls they make going to the bathroom a snap. One of my pet peeves is pulling with all my force to get an already wet swimsuit back up your body, while the suit hugs defiantly around your thighs. It seems the harder you pull the tighter the suit becomes around your legs. Therefore, it is the suit of choice for me and my two daughters.

So, now let me tell you why I hate tankini's. There is more to keep track of when you are packing a swim bag. Once, I sent Lady Jane to camp only to get a call when they were on the way to the pool because I had apparently given her Lady Janes top and Baby girls bottom. In my defense, Lady Jane only realized they were not her bottoms when she could not pull them up past her knees.

That being said, I will begin my story. Lady Jane and Buster brown won a trip to Carribean Cove, an indoor waterpark, for selling an obsene amount of magazines for the schools fundraiser. I needed to take advantage of their free admission sometime over winter break and my time was quickly dwindling away. I decided really on the last possible day I would venture bymyself with my three crazy children to the water park which was an hour away from my house.

I packed the swim bag making sure I had a suit for everyone (I have made that mistake before) and that all the suits had their respected pieces. I checked and then double checked and we were off.

We entered the steaming water park and headed to the bathrooms to change in our suits. "This is going to be so fun!" Baby girl exclaimed. Lady Jane quickly snatched her suit and went into a changing room. I started digging for the rest our suits in the buldging swim bag.

"Mom! You didn't pack me a top, only a bottom and the cover-up skirt that goes with it!" Lady Jane shouts in despiration.

"No, your joking." I say knowing full well that she is not at all joking. I had forgotten that this particular tankini had a cover-up skirt that went with it. Lady Jane pulled back the curtain, tears welling up in her eyes and her chin begins to quiver. I am trying to think of all the ways I could remedy this situation. She clearly can not swim in the long sleeve shirt she is wearing with the skirt on the bottom. I am starting to wonder in my head if I can fashion the fast food wrappers on the floor in my car into some sort of a bikini when my daydream is interupted.

"Did you forget her top?" asks a friendly Mom in the dressing room who has heard everything go down.

"Yes" I say defeated, my head hung in shame.

"You can have my daughters." She says as she hands me the exact size tankini top I need. I stand there in disbelief for a moment holding the suit.

"but how will I get it back to you?" I protest.

"it is OK, I need to buy my daughter a new suit anyway." she informs me.

I thank her profusly, but feel like no amount of words can really let her know how much her act of kindness has meant to me. We all leave the dressing room feeling so appreciative we are able to enjoy the waterpark.

I long for a time when I can pay it forward, from this strangers act of kindness and make someone feel as loved as I did when she handed my that wet tankini top.