I am not making this stuff up.
We see so little sun around here that the people have become afraid of it.
I took Ryan's friend, Celin, with us to the pool last Friday. The temperature had managed to reach into the seventies (Fahrenheit) and every now and then the sun even deigned to peak his head out through the clouds.
My kids stripped to their bathing suits and headed for the water.
Celin carefully chose a spot in the shade and proceeede to apply sunscreen.
SUNSCREEN?!!! My child, we hadn't seen the sun in THREE WEEKS! And it was a partially cloudy 80 degrees F. Honestly, at some point, humans (and guinea pig and chimpanzees) NEED Vitamin D. Really. These three species don't manufacture it themselves.
"But look" Celin said, pulling down her strap. I still have a line from the last time you brought me to the pool." (Three weeks ago, for the record.)
"Must be I got too much sun."
TOO MUCH SUN? HERE? THIS SUMMER? Honey, that's called a tan line.
Although, come to think of it, they probably DON'T have a German word for it.
Andrew's friend Marlon's mom called me a while back too. Appeared she was concerned about all the sun they were getting at soccer camp. (It rained two out of three days, so hard that they ended up inside watching "Die Wilde Kerle" a German youth soccer series.) The third day Marlon apparently came home with a SUNBURN.
"A sunburn?" I asked. It was hard to believe.
"Oh yes. It was gone the next day but it was there when he came home all right."
Okay guys. Enough is enough.
You thought the Scandinavians were that pale genetically?
Let me introduce you to something the rest of the world calls a nice, healthy tan.
Start with a sprinkling of sunshine.
Oh. Never mind.
Stick to applying the sunscreen and pretending you have something to worry about!
If you like this post, you'll love the one I wrote on May 7, entitled "Mr. Sun."
ReplyDeleteI love it when they put suntan lotion on them when they're just going to sit in the shade. And moms are DILIGENT about keeping them in the shade, so it's not like they'll be allowed to wander into any UV rays.
ReplyDeleteooPS I'm DYING! But the sun IS out THIS MOMENT. So, like a good German would, I should probably go out and enjoy it sofort.
Quick - catch it while you can!
ReplyDeleteJochen is complaining about the hot Christmases in Phoenix now. I'm thinking we should revoke his US passport and send him back here so that he remembers what cold and snow - and rain and gray - looks like! With two kids inside all day to boot!
Oops - she's gone again. Fickle that German sun!