To lighten the mood of some of my recent posts, since I've been down in the motivational dumps, I thought I would share with you a great story from history. Not leaving any detail out, of course. A little foreshadowing: I don't sunburn easily.
It was the 4th of July. I had come back from IC with Brett for some reason and PIC #2 and I decided to hang out for the day. We thought it would be a great idea to catch some rays at "The Pits" because it was a hot, sunny, summer day. (BRILLIANT IDEA #1) I remember we went early and were pretty much the first ones there. We had grabbed my parents' old school chaise lounger chairs. You know, the ones that fold up into a small square and the head part folds out as do the feet part? Metal legs, plasticky cream colored vinyl. (BRILLIANT IDEA #2) Wicked awesome.
I will tell you that I was STILL wearing a two piece suit at this time. (BRILLIANT IDEA #3 and actually there is no sarcasm with this brilliant idea, it will prove to be my most brilliant idea yet, keep reading) Why was I wearing a two piece suit? I really don't know. I know I shouldn't have been wearing one at the time. I don't think I have worn one since. (Thank all that is holy for small miracles, I know. I know.) I have a naturally tan complexion and I honestly do not burn easily. However, we decided it was a BRILLIANT idea to cover ourselves in baby oil and lay out. (BRILLIANCE #4)
After about a half hour in the sun, it got really hot. I thought it would be a good idea to drag my chair to the water and put the feet part in the water. (BRILLS #5) After a couple hours in the sun, feeling great because I wasn't hot at all with my feet in the cool water which surprisingly, I didn't get any sort of disease from that water, we were hungry and decided to go to Taco Time for some lunch. Taco Time only because it was PIC #2's fave and mine when I was back in town.
We go to Taco Time and they have booths there that are covered in vinyl. We each had shorts and t-shirts/tank tops to put over our suits, so we were fully clothed. We sat down, ate our lunch, having a great time and when I was done, I stood up to put my tray away and throw my trash in the garbage can behind me. When I stood up and went to the garbage, I didn't like the feeling of my legs peeling away from the seat of the booth and I said something to the effect of my legs being melted to the seat. PIC #2 simply stated, with a gasp, "Ohhhhhhhh, Trish!" I stopped and looked behind me, saying "What?! What is it?!" She said, "you are really burnt!" At the same moment she said this, I caught a clear shot of my calf. I was burnt. So burnt in fact that I. Was. Purple. Yes, purple! I'm not even kidding. I can't make this stuff up. I sat back down to wait for PIC #2 to finish her meal, afterwards, she dropped me off at my parents' house. I showered and slathered on some greasy lotion. By the time Brett and I headed back to IC later that afternoon in his car with leather seats, I was feeling the burn, literally. I covered the passenger seat in towels for the ride home.
We arrived home to find that the ceiling of our apartment had been blown out by a leaky pipe, so we had to go elsewhere for a few hours while the crew cleaned it up. We went to buy some pure aloe vera gel and headed to our friend's house to go watch fireworks. Brett was being so helpful, he tried to rub in some of the aloe in my back, but the touch of his hands was way too much even being as gentle as he could. I told him to just squirt it at the top of my back and let it run down, making sure it coated the entire area. He did. Bless his heart.
I was miserable at the fireworks and Brett kept forgetting about my awful sunburn and kept trying to put his arm around me during the fireworks. Bless his heart again. We finally got home late that night and I had to sleep in the buff that night. It was awful. I was radiating heat to the point of making Brett sweat. No joke. He would just spray that aloe gel on my back and let it run all over. It was the only thing that helped. The next day, my skin was so tight and still VERY tender. I took a shower that felt like someone was poking my back with a million needles. I was getting dressed, panties first then bra and then when I went to put on shorts and moved a bit, I realized it was not going to fly wearing normal bras and panties. I hand washed my two piece swimsuit and was able to wear loose clothing for the next few days. I continued to hand wash my suit until I could bear to wear something else.
The weeks that followed were not pretty. I blistered, then I molted, shed and peeled. Rinse and repeat. Awful!
I have not put a lawn chair in water since. I have not used baby oil since. I have not worn a two piece suit since. I have not had to use aloe vera gel since. I have eaten Taco Time, though. SPF 700 is my friend.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you that are searching for your sunscreen, until next time...
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