I forget to use sunscreen
for the first two hours of the day today at a lacrosse jamboree.
It is not entirely my
fault. To be honest, it is overcast and
very cold. I am in layers all morning:
Jeans, sneakers, socks, t-shirt, sweatshirt, fleece, and jacket. I top this all off with gloves. I’m reasonably secure in the belief that it
will snow today before the sun actually comes out.
I am incorrect.
Around 11:00 the sun
starts beating down on us, and we all start peeling off our over-layers in
attempts to cool down. This is when I
suddenly remember the sunscreen in the car, leave in the middle of the first
quarter, and rush out to the lot (I had stolen a primo space very early this
morning). I lather sunscreen on my face and return to the
game. It doesn’t matter. By halftime it is obvious that I have already
burned my face just sitting through the chilly haze.
Damnit.
It’s so bad that even my
eyeballs are bloodshot.
Great.
I guess my nose will be
peeling again. Aloe vera and cool
compresses can only go so far. Thank
goodness for beige face powder -- At
least I’ll be able to tone it down before work.
But not my eyeballs, which look like maraschino cherries floating around
in a tomato-hued pile of flesh, all of which has the slight hint of charred
epidermis.
The good news is that I’m
probably so overcooked that Hannibal Lector will no longer consider me raw meat
as I’m too well-done for chianti. The
bad news is that I have to go to work like this tomorrow, glowing slightly neon
with horror-show eyeballs.
The best news is that my
sunburn won’t phase the kids at all.
They’re totally oblivious to these major and obvious things, but throw
in an imperceptible hair trim, and no one lets me forget it.
More lacrosse next Sunday. Hopefully my
skin will be healed (or peeled) by then.
