Sunshine on my Shoulders

So yesterday I got my first sunburn of the season. Usually this happens much early in the spring/summer - but my carpool had been acting as SPF. Until it broke up. Because my silly sister quit her job to go follow her dreams. (Yay, sister!) So...now I sit in traffic on my own. Which means I get to drive. My convertible. With the top down. And no one whines that it's hot. Or muggy. Or windy. Or loud. Or exhaust-fumey.

Life is good.

To celebrate a non-horrible weather day yesterday, I put the top down for my drive home, took off my blazer and sat in my tank top soaking up the joy of being in a convertible with the wind blowing through your hair. Right until I hit 10 miles of backed up traffic and what appeared to have been an 18-wheeler convention, all brought to you courtesy of a fender bender. The accident didn't really cause the traffic though - they moved it out the way and life should've been good. But no. Everyone had to look. And to look, you have to slow down. Rapidly. Causing the person behind you to slow down rapidly. And so on and so on back for miles. Why can't people just keep driving? If the police are already there, there's nothing you can do. Just drive!

So anyway, an hour later, when I could once again get up to a reasonable speed (i.e. something faster than stopped) I went back to enjoying my sunshine and wind. And I never once considered my poor shoulders that hadn't seen the sunlight naked all season.

I suppose I should clarify a little. I am well aware of the dangers of skin cancer. I am not a sun worshipper in any way, shape, or form. I can't tan. My version of tan is freckles that increase in surface area. And even they never spread enough to make a tan. They just expand enough to make me look like a mutant dalmation. Consequently, I wasn't going for 'color' on my skin. And if I'd been driving all season as usual, I'd've remembered the sunscreen that I keep in my purse for just these types of occasions. But alas, I didn't.

And now, now I have Sunburned Shoulders (hmmm....this could be a new perfume to compete with White Shoulders? We could have a whole line. Sunburned Shoulders would be fresh and summery. Then you could have Cold Shoulders - you know, perfume for when you want to push people away....lots of good possibilities.) So, all in all, I think John Denver was off a little - Sunshine on my Shoulders makes me happy only with the caveat that it's not for hours and hours without sunscreen. And while we're at it, Sunshine in my eyes doesn't make me cry - it makes me sneeze. I will give him that Sunshine on the water does look lovely, but I never can seem to get the vitamin D "almost all the time" high that he talks about. But hey, it's still a pretty song.