Beach Day Gone Wrong
by Cheryl, posted on July 19th, 2010 in Parenting
My husband and I are sunscreen assholes.
We are.
We spent a glorious day at the beach yesterday with some great friends of ours. It was one of those days where the sky is so blue it almost hurts to look at it. The breeze was gentle, the sun a warm embrace, and the kids couldn’t get enough of chasing the surf.
Perfect, really.
We stayed a lot longer than we expected. We thought we’d be home around 1 for X’s nap, but instead pulled out of the parking lot after 3, with X passed out in his car seat.
I was still basking in the glow when I went to change out of my suit.
And that’s when I noticed.
I had myself a wicked sunburn. Oh yes. My back? Bright pink. Same with my stomach.
Ridiculous.
I’m 41 years old.
I know how to put on sunscreen.
Or so I thought.
I was congratulating myself on bringing the spray sunscreen to the beach. That way I could do my back myself. I unfortunately did not factor in the breeze, which will blow said spray away from the skin. It makes the beach smell like a beach. It also makes the skin primed to be barbecued.
The best part? I was not alone in being a sunscreen moron. My husband asked me to spray his back. He arrived home with a sunburned chest – he didn’t spray there because, he said, he figured the sun would just be on his back.
That sun? It’s tricky. And, apparently, smarter than us.
Now, my face is fine, my shoulders were sprayed nicely, and there are distinct swatches on my stomach where you can see the sunscreen landed. The rest?
Yeeouch!
The worst part isn’t the pain on my back. It’s that my kids have to see this hot mess. They know I always make sure to cover them with sunscreen. They are not children who make me sprint across the sand to capture them and slather. They ask for sunscreen. Sawyer even reminds me to make sure I get the backs of his ears.
My kids are so dark, having inherited their father’s skin (and his everything else, for that matter) that they don’t burn. But I still cover them.
So it’s very embarrassing and humbling. To say nothing of irritating.
My husband and I? We learned a very painful lesson.
Next time, we’ll bring the lotion.
Tags: perfect beach day, spray sunscreen, sunburn, we're assholes, we're morons
Kelli Says:
Put lots of Aloe Lotion on it!!
Cheryl Reply:
July 19th, 2010 at 10:58 am
You tsk tsker, you! I wonder if your boy’s red cheeks are from windburn?
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