Wednesday, November 5, 2008

SUNSCREEN


I grew up in California and I am a true blue or brown sun worshipper. I used to tan with the oil and all the works. My mother used to yell at me, wear some sun screen and get out of the sun.

We lived in Hawaii when our first two children were young and I continued my worship of the sun. Thankfully for my skin we moved to Missouri after three years in Hawaii. I spent the next eight years without the sun, since it never shines in the midwest!

Then unfortunately for my skin we moved to Flagstaff Arizona. The altitude combined with the arid conditions and the fact that the sun shines there 340 days a year, all set me up for what you now see. Oh yeah and the fact that I spent 6 years training and competing in triathlons. All those nice sunny days on the bike took their toll.

I really did try to use sunscreen. I would put it on and go out for a run or a ride. About 10 minutes out I would start to sweat, or try to sweat. I felt like my skin was trying to sweat but could not. Like my skin was constipated or something. I would be like Gollum trying to get the sunscreen wiped off and yelling "it burns, it burns".

After 14 years in Flagstaff another unfortunate for my skin, our move to Costa Rica. Now as you can see in my pic, it is hopeless. Well maybe not hopeless. I called and made an appointment with a skin restoration doc here. After I made the appt. I decided I better research what this skin restoration consisted of.

Come to find out it was contraindicated for those of us lucky dogs who have oral herpes, better known as cold sores. I can spend one hour in the sun without my hat on, and two days later my lips will look like raw hamburger.

So needless to say I cancelled my appt. with the doc. and am just having to deal with my face. I guess the old adage is true, "you make your bed you have to sleep in it". Something like that anyway.

If anything I have to offer is a legacy to my daughters. Guess what? They wear sun screen all of the time!

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