Fun with Sun.... burn
They say people with light skin, reddish-dark hair, and blue eyes are most susceptible to the harmfully sunny sun.

I'm here to confess to the world that this fact is, in fact, very, very true.

I've always been one to sunburn easily. And not just slightly pink. No, when I go for the sunburn I go all the way. Red, red, and more red.

I blister, I peel. It hurts. It's not pretty. Although afterwards I'm sometimes left with a decent tan.

It's not like I do this on purpose. I know the dangers of the sun. I do what I can to combat the sun. Sunscreen, more sunscreen, and then when I've slathered all the sunscreen I think I can possibly wear, I slather more. I gain at least twenty pounds just in sunscreen when preparing for being in the out of doors. I don't wear floppy hats or long sleeves. I get too hot. And then outdoor fun is not so much fun.

But, the sun is determined to break through the sunscreen barrier, and it does. Just about any time I'm outside. And the thing is, I really like to be outside. I prefer outside to inside. So what's a really, really ridiculously white girl to do when in the sun? It's been a life-long struggle.

When my sister and I were little, we were pretty much constantly sunburned. We have pictures of the two of us in our swimsuits, smiling as big as we can, both sunburned beyond recognition. It's funny and cute. We all laugh at how cute and silly we are, all the while ignoring the fact that it's a terrible thing for kids to get that sunburned so often. And, you don't get to see what happened after the picture. For after the picture came the reality of what the sun had done to us poor abused children. It hurt. It made GIGANTIC blisters. It peeled. Our clothes stuck to us. It left giant freckles. It wasn't good for the skin.

I will be amazed one day when I go to a dermatologist and I am allowed to leave without the news that I've had skin cancer since the age of five.

So this past weekend I went to the lake with some friends and family of one of the friends. I can't very well avoid lake fun just because the sun will be out. The sun comes out everyday! So I knew it would be another sun-intensive weekend, and I would likely hurt when it was time to go home.

Day One on the boat was cloudy to start. This is soooooooo deceptive. I hate putting on sunscreen. I hate smelling like sunscreen. Yet I know better than to be out in cloudy weather on a lake riding in a white boat without at least seven layers of sunscreen. But, I did anyway. I rode in the boat. With minimal sunscreen. Spray on sunscreen that I sprayed on while the boat was in action.

I learned later that very little of the windblown sunscreen made it onto my skin. And the stuff that did make it made nice spray splotches. A few hours later, I looked quite polka-dottish. It was festive. And good for conversation, to say the least.

The next day I was lured onto the boat again, this time in full sun. I was already quite burnt, but I didn't want to forego lake festivities. However, I was smarter this time. I slathered up with sunscreen before getting on the boat. Front and back. More than one layer. This time, I was ready for sun.

Ready, that is, for more sunburn. To be completely accurate.

After Day Two on the boat, much of me was more red than not red. The sunscreen shield of protection did very little to make the sun not be on my skin. I was so red it hurt to wear clothes. Or to touch air.

Air hurts.

Plus, it wasn't a pretty pattern. It's just hard to tan (or in my case, burn) evenly on a boat. The front of me was scorched, my knees had some random redness, and some of my back and shoulders were a lovely shade of deep red. Everywhere else was still mostly white. I looked like a polka-dotted candy cane.

Now, being a few days after the burn, I'm still in pain. I'm still red. Things are still sticking to me. I can only take cold showers. I'm a human heater.

It was a great trip to the lake. I have no regrets about going and being on the boat as much as I was on the boat. In fact, I will have a lasting burn pattern to always remember it by. Good times....

At least one day if all of my skin finally falls off from the sun abuse, I won't have to worry about sunburn anymore...

C.T.