Monday, June 1, 2009

manic monday - tans and burns

the preacher at church yesterday said that everyone needs to be passionate about something. i'm passionate about a few things - like my family, supporting the troops (i.e. rob), and EMBRACING WHITENESS!!! last year when i had melanoma, it really scared me. and i know i preached to everyone i knew about how they should go to the dermatologist and get a full body check - because i would have never known that i had a melanoma (the spots i thought were weird weren't, and the spot that was - i hadn't ever noticed). but i'm pretty sure out of everyone, the only people that listened were the folks already going to start with (my dad, nathaniel's mom, amy, etc. - but nathaniel did go and get checked, so i suppose i can add that person to my "listened" list - of coarse i made him the appt...) anyway, like i blogged about before, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink, right??? i'm digressing (or maybe setting myself up for next week's manic monday).
oh wow. what i always wanted - a lifetime of dark, tanned and wrinkly skin. love the kid's expression. i think i'll train kendal to do this for people who are sunburned.
one of my biggest pet peeves (surprisingly isn't the fact folks don't heed warnings) is the way people advertise that they are tanning and/or get sunburns. on facebook, a day doesn't go by (that is sunny) that someone doesn't say "laying out today" or "got a sunburn" or something to that affect. boy does it get under my skin. i'd be the first in line to sign a petition to outlaw tanning beds. but really. are most who i hear talk of sunburns are my facebook (and real-world) friends - whom are ALL adults! shouldn't adults KNOW and be responsible enough to use sunblock? come on. and i can tell you for sure that you can tan with sunblock on. back in the day when i used to lay out (and i did my share of it.. obviously), i would start the summer off in SPF50 - all over. by the end of the summer, i'd be using SPF15 (all over except SPF 50 on my face) - and i'd be just as tan as everyone else, but without the burns. so come on, people. stop thinking that you have to be tan to be normal. be your own. let your whiteness (or whatever your natural color is) shine through for a change. (my natural color just happens to be about as white as a sheet of paper!) and by the way, i just have to say here that my dad has had basal cell carcinoma multiple times on his face (which if you're gonna get skin cancer, this is the one to have - very slow growing and low risk for DEATH like melanoma). and i think in his whole life he probably has never worn sunblock until he started with the skin cancer episodes. but on friday he went fishing - and before he made it up the stairs, i could smell the sunblock. why is it that we have the heck scared out of us to make us do what we are supposed to do? well, maybe i should listen to myself here... though my BP and chol. are fine, i need to loose some weight! don't want a heart attack at 33! romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world...

6 comments:

  1. Love this blog!

    I, too, took your advice and went to the Dermatologist last month. Again, the ones I thought were suspicious were totally ok, but the one he cut off looked almost normal to me. It was dark, but still not one that would have scared me. Anyway, can you believe I am STILL waiting to hear the results???? They said there was a huge delay because of the Memorial Day holiday, so I should absolutely hear something this week. Anyway, I HATE tanning beds, too, and don't understand how people can be so completely ignorant. I also will wear sunblock all summer (SPF 30), and will have some nice color come August. Soft color is nice, brown skin actually starts to look really ugly! People don't get that. My co-worker next door is the worst-she could have posed for that picture you posted. Going to the tanning bed all summer???? Ridiculous!

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  2. i'm glad you went, emily. you're just as fairskinned as me!

    i hope you have good news from the doctor. you'll surely breathe a sigh of relief! (and i will too for you!)

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  3. I so need to take your advice and get checked out after all the years I've been addicted to laying out in the sun. This year, as I quickly approach 43, I am noticing such a change in my skin. So far this year with Mark's injuries and the sailboat not running, I've only laid out twice and really just for enough color so I don't scare people with my white legs. I just DO NOT do pantyhose. But I am thankful that my attitude about laying out is changing as I age....Just hope it isn't too late. Guess I better get a checkup BEFORE our co-pays increase on July 1. Thanks girl. You always give good advice.

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  4. i wish some friends i know would head this warning the "old skin" photo, 0biviously photo-shopped, but still scary.

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  5. Well... people are dumb. I haven't been to the dermatologist, but I am vigilant about sunscreen. For me and the kids. We put it on to walk the dog! Plus, we don't go out during the worst times -- saving our walks until after dinner.

    But you have to think... what have doctors been saying about cigarettes for years and years. People still smoke. Some people are just dumb.

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  6. I followed your advice and they removed two pre-cancers from my leg and face. I spent years at the beach, quasi-surfing and boogie boarding, and I never wore sunscreen. I remember getting purple blisters on my shoulders all the time...

    Alas, M, I would counter that people are not dumb. They are either ill informed or selfish. Being a smoker for 4+ years, I knew the consequences of smoking, but had little regard for the health effects because I was only thinking of myself. I was young, and cancer and death were (hopefully) a long way off.

    It took your sister to get me to finally quit smoking because she was worth living for, and now that I we kids, I have three reasons to not be selfish.

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