Last month I lamented the lengthy winters I live through every year, here in New Hampshire.
To summarize - I am NOT a fan of snow, cold, wind, sleet, or ice.
Not in the least.
One would assume, and we all know you're not supposed to do that because...you know(!) that I'd be a summer, sand, and beach girl.
Wrong assumption.
I grew up on a beach - literally- my parents and I lived in a three-room converted bungalow on a beach in Staten Island from the time I was 10 until I went to college. Every single day I was able to, I was out on the beach, reclining on a blanket, reading a Trixie Belden or Nancy Drew mystery. Sunscreen wasn't a thing back then. I don't even recall anything like SPF being included in bottles of Ban de Soliel, which was basically coconut oil you slathered all over you to attract the sun's rays and - hopefully - tan.
I did tan. Eventually. But I burned to a crisp first. By the time I was eighteen, I think I'd garnered two major sunburns every year of my life. Maybe more.
I remained a beachgoer all through my 20s and 30s.
I stopped worshiping sun and sand in my 40s when I had my first skin cancer removal.
Now I'm like a vampire and I shun any mention of the sun. When I do venture out it is with sunglasses and a big brimmed hat, and slathered in SPF 110 ( yes, there is such a thing). I wear long-sleeved shirts and never shorts. I wear sneakers, not thongs or flip-flops. I haven't bought or worn a bathing suit in 45 years. No lie.
I don't go to the beach. Ever. Ever.
I sit in the shade whenever I am at an outside party or event and even then I am wearing my shades and a hat.
So I need a third option, other than the two of sand or snow. I need...shade.
This month's topic, for me, is: Sun, snow, or shade?
You know my answer, LOL
