Funky Sunburn

I never used to sunburn. I spent most of my childhood outdoors and my skin remained in a state of tan year-round. In Michigan it is possible to get sunburn but I didn’t lay out in the sun to get my tan, I just played and worked outdoors and built up a permanent tan. The first time I remember getting a sunburn was right after I turned 18 and my senior class went to Florida. I had never experienced such intense sun before and never having had to wear sunscreen I was a little too sparing in the application that first day. I learned quickly though and was able to enjoy the rest of my week in sunny Florida.

Here in Nashville it’s pretty much as you would imagine, not as intense as Florida, but not as mild as Michigan. I have had sunburn here but most of the time I’m not out long enough to burn. Yesterday, however, I got a very funny looking sunburn. It’s not a big one, as in all over me, but it’s very red. I was out in the flower beds again and I was wearing long pants and a t-shirt. The black mulch in the beds is almost oily and seems to stain badly so, black clothing that covers me well is the apparel of choice. The black shirt I was wearing was, unbeknownst to me, crawling up a little in the back. There was a gap between the top of my pants and the bottom of my shirt about two inches wide. My pants came up quite far so I wasn’t flashing a plumber’s crack or anything but the exposed skin was unprotected and I now have a two inch red band across my lower back. In all my conservative days I have never exposed this area to sun. I’ve never worn a two piece bathing suit or had a one piece that was low enough in the back to allow the sun access. My Lilly white back is now Rose red and it looks pretty funny. It doesn’t hurt unless I touch it and it’s in a pretty inconspicuous place so it’s not hard to cover or avoid touching. I just wonder how long it’s going to be there, I mean if it peels, will it go away, or will I always have this patch of discolored skin? I haven’t played softball consistently in years but I can still see a slight difference in the skin tone on my right hand because I wasn’t wearing a fielders glove on that hand. Will my back suffer the same fate? Silly me.