I’m one of those people who burn. Badly. I wear sunscreen in SPF 60 or higher. When I’m driving and I forget to put on some sunscreen, the sun shining on my skin through the window actually hurts.

My husband is originally from Africa, and when we met he had no idea what I meant when I said, “I burn.” This was a completely foreign concept to him, and it was only after we were married that I got a really nasty sunburn on my shoulders. It swelled up, it blistered, about 2 mm deep of flesh slipped off. The doctor said it was a second degree burn and he gave me appropriate medication for it. My husband stared at me like I was some kind of alien, and ever after has been very cautious about keeping me in shade. Lest I melt.

When we walk together down a street, I’m on the shade side and he’s on the sun side. Before we go out in the summer time, I spend about ten minutes slathering up with sunscreen before we go out, and if I forget, we GO BACK.

This is an old meme, but it makes my point. I’m “the other one,” I’m just not Irish. 😉

I’m enjoying my summer! It’s spent slathered up in sunscreen, hidden away in shade and air conditioning, and it’s been wonderful so far. Isn’t it lucky that my talents are in writing and not say… beach volleyball? It’s almost like God made me this way–a pale, creative type. Who needs melanin anyway? 😉