Tell me about someone in your life who is hard on themselves. I’ll bet it’s a woman.

Why? Because women are especially hard on themselves. All of us are too hard on ourselves. Every single woman I know hates something about themselves.

But this is what I want to say to every one of them this summer:

Put on the damn swimsuit.

I have spent years of my life feeling inadequate—feeling like I needed to look like those thin girls in the magazines and on the television. I spent years sitting on the sidelines when I should have been playing with my kids in the pool.

Do you want to know what I learned? Nobody was looking at me because of my body or my bathing suit. People were looking at me because I was in the pool with my kids, goofing around, and having a great time. Absolutely nobody was judging my body, except for myself.

Instead of judging our bodies and identifying all the things we don’t like about them, how about we start celebrating how amazing and wonderful they are?

We grow, carry, and nourish our children. Think about that for a minute. Let that sink in. It’s pretty damn miraculous and it should be celebrated instead of insulted. Our arms hold and comfort others, our mouths tell bedtime stories and command boardrooms, and our lips speak of love and heal ouchies. We are freaking amazing.

This summer, when your kids ask you to play in the pool, please put on the swimsuit. Please abandon your insecurities. Please remember how badass you are and jump into the deep end.