sun worship

( This is absolutely NOT my flat tummy, but feel free to pretend)

When I was in college my favorite thing to do in the afternoon, after all my classes were finished, was to head out to the pool in my skimpiest swimsuit and no sunscreen to just lie in the sunshine. There was nothing like the feeling of soaking in the heat until I had to jump into the pool and cool off so that I could start all over. Now, I am a grown-up and I know all about melanoma and wrinkles and I dutifully apply sunscreen every morning. Most of any tan you see on me in the summer comes from a bottle. I never, ever have time to just lie anywhere, for any reason. Yesterday while the kids were eating their lunch at the little picnic table on the deck, I stretched out flat on my back and just soaked in the sun, just for ten minutes, but oh, it was terribly lovely. Later in the day I followed that little slice of heaven up by planting flowers in a tank top (straight from the gym). Obviously, that second job produced the first sunburn I've had in years. Every time I shower and the hot water stings, I thrill just a bit at all the memories that come flooding back. But today I made sure to sunscreen all exposed parts of my body, I can't seem to help but be all adult and responsible. Plus, I am very anti-wrinkle.