Legitimate Reasons To Fear The Sun

First thing’s first: I still want a Vespa.  That hasn’t changed in the past year and a half.  It’s summer time and I want a Vespa.  Make that happen.

OK.

It’s Wednesday, but figuratively the Tuesday of a short week, and I thought it was Thursday when I woke up.  You can imagine how much work I’m not going to get done today.  I don’t even really know what day it is.  I’m in a parallel universe.  Other than that and the excessive amount of sunburns I’ve achieved (achieved...?  They’re like game tokens) over the past month, I’d say I’m doing pretty well.

Speaking of sunburns, a Hello Giggles contributor, wrote a little somethin’-somethin’ about 10 Reasons Sunburns Scare Her.  I’m not a Hello Giggles contributor (though I should be – I’m funny and a girl) so I think it’s OK for me to give my legitimate  reasons I’m not necessarily scared of sunburns but the sun in general.

The Melanoma
Anything I’m frightened by, I put a “The” in front of to make it even more intimidating.  My skin cells are already damaged enough as is because of the sun.  People laugh and make fun of the person who wears SPF 100, but it's not that funny.  The Melanoma is the most common form of cancer, so if you think you're not at risk because you're not a pale, redhead, with blue eyes like me - you're wrong.  There's nothing fun about it and scars from it aren't pretty.  Stop putting on tanning lotions and buy some sunscreen.  You have no idea what you're doing to your body.  Trust me.

Sunstroke
I don't know how many of you have had a sunstroke before, but I have.  I passed out in a nursing home one time because of it.  Pretty much a heat stroke - your body overheats and can't cool itself off.  You feel faint and dizzy.  You might be slightly delusional (I was).  Then you pass out and wake up with someone's aunt hovering over you, an old man in a wheelchair offering you a donut, and a paramedic asking you five times if you're pregnant.  Because saying "No!" to that questions once, is not enough.  So yeah, don't let that happen to you because you will never live it down.  Never.  That instance of sunstroke is still in the top five topics of discussion for my friends.  It is one of Chase's favorite stories.  I wouldn't doubt it if he tells that story at family functions.

Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is almost a given.  Seven times out of 10, I am going to suffer some form of heat exhaustion. I fully blame the sun.  Memorial Day - Heat Exhaustion.  Granted, I was outside, directly in the sun for quite some time on Monday and I partly blame Robert's half ironman on Sunday, because I was outside for that, too.  Though, he told me to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, and don't pass out on Memorial Day.  I listened and it happened anyway.  (He's like a heat exhaustion prophet and I have to swallow my pride and tell him "You're right, I almost died."  I hate that.)  I didn't pass out, but I did get really sick and "dozed off" on Dara's couch while watching How I Met Your Mother.  I also fell asleep that night at 7:30 with a pounding headache, nausea, fatigue, and a cold rag on my face.  When I say I was in the sun for quite some time - I was in the sun for three hours.  One more hour, and I might've died.

Dehydration
If I think about going outside, my body automatically does two things: Gets a pre sunburn-burn, and gets dehydrated.  Simply by the thought of going outside.  Last night after church, I walked back into the sanctuary, approached Dara and Robert and all I heard him say was, "...stay hydrated." So, yeah, they were talking about it and they know how it goes.  Stay hydrated.  Sadly, even when I am well-hydrated, I still get dehydrated.  The sun sucks it all out of me.  Two summers ago, I was so hydrated I was floating, and I still got dehydrated on a bike ride.  Granted, it was like July 3rd in Texas so it was a death sentence.  Then a month later, it happened again - twice.  I probably shouldn't ride bikes.

The Sunburn
I am less terrified of The Sunburn than the actual sun.  The Sunburn hurts and is like wearing a scarlet letter of being an idiot for not wearing sunscreen or not wearing enough.  Depending on the severity of the burn, I prefer the first stages of a sunburn after you take a shower.  The shower always brings out that lovely tomato pigment.  The first stages of the sunburn are pain and less pain.  I prefer that than the itching stage and the peeling stage.  Sometimes those two stages coincide, and I don't want to talk about it because you can imagine scratching and peeling...it's gross.  It happens to me every summer.  Sometimes in the winter.  it just happens, alright!?  Sometimes the itching is very painful and the only thing that is comfortable is standing in a shower.  When that happens, I feel like my body is mocking me by saying "Should've stayed hydrated and worn more sunscreen.  Now we've come full-circle as you stand in a stream of water."  Shut it.

This

That thing is scary and if you don't take care of your skin, and spend too much unprotected time in the sun, you will start looking like the sun!  You are what you eat!  Err...that does not apply here.  That's for another blog.

With all of that being said, I am not the only person who experiences these things on a somewhat normal basis.  I want you all to take care of your skin, stay hydrated, and if you start to not feel very well - go inside!  When I start feeling the slightest bit "off," I always say something.  The sun is quite powerful, and I love being in the sun, but we all have our limits.

Anyways, I think I want to go hiking this weekend or rent a kayak at Tyler State Park.  Someone want to bring me some water?