Thursday, June 01, 2006

Getting a Tan

Back in the day, my sis Becky and I would go out in the back 40 on summer Sunday afternoons and lie in the sun. She would lie still and composed for hours and get a nice tan. I would fidget and swat at mosquitoes and get sticky and hot and feel blinded by the sun.

To this day, no matter if I hold still or not, I am unable to tan. I burn, freckle, and splotch, but I don't tan.

Today Becky is still so nice and tan, and her Arabic is so fluent, that the native Yemeni's around her often think she's Iraqi or Syrian.

I am still so pale that people often think I'm sick or anemic.

Now summer is here with its short sleeves and sandals, and my daughter delicately informed me the other day that my legs are really distractingly white.

The logical solution here is to reach for the fake-tan lotion. Unfortunately, the cheap kinds in years past made me look like I had chicken legs, or so my daughters delicately informed me.

Last year Amy invested in some L'oreal Paris DERMO-EXPERTISE NEW SUBLIME BRONZE Self-Tanning Lotion Streak-free LIGHT-MEDIUM SPF 15 with Vitamin E For smoother skin.

She didn't like it so she gave it to me. I dug it out of the cupboard the other day and smoothed it on, and now my arms are nice and brown and maybe, just maybe, I am no longer a distraction when I wear sandals.

But I still haven't worked up the nerve to use it on my face.

Quote of the Day:
"If the government really wanted to persecute Mom they'd make secondhand stores and garage sales illegal."
--Ben

6 comments:

  1. Oh how i relate. Some indelicate person at work, a man, mind you, informed me quite loudly that my pasty white legs were nauseating. i tried the expensive clarins sample which turned my legs orange. i am shopping for an orange shirt to balance the effect!
    geneva

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  2. Oh how i relate. Some indelicate person at work, a man, mind you, informed me quite loudly that my pasty white legs were nauseating. i tried the expensive clarins sample which turned my legs orange. i am shopping for an orange shirt to balance the effect!
    geneva

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  3. I am going to have to go to the store and check this stuff out (and then work up the courage to try it-I hate that orange look).

    A friend of mine always reminds me that when I wear skirts she can see my legs glow because they are so white.

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  4. Let scripture be your guide. Fairness, as in skin color, is therein commended.

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  5. I am going to have to try this product. I got the Jergens Natural Glow. I don't like it at all. I too glow in the dark. Congrats on the book signing!!

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  6. i totally relate to your sis and you...i never could handle laying there getting sticky and hot!Now she tans nice while i just dont!loved the quote!! and enjoyed catching up here,it's been awhile.

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