The Sunburn Walk of Shame

I have the gift of gab. And I absolutely adore my next-door neighbor. Those two things combined led to an unexpected (and unwelcome) result for me recently.

It was a Saturday, and the weather was gorgeous. We were having a cooler spell (relatively speaking, since we’d had a long streak of daily temps in the 90’s). Even though it was still summer, I could almost feel a hint of autumn in the air that morning. It was a perfect day to get some yard work done that I’d been putting off doing.

Gardening outside

I went outside mid-morning, thinking I would spend an hour or so pulling weeds and trimming some limbs off several bushes. The thing about yard work and me, though, is that I love working in my flowerbeds. I find it relaxing and rejuvenating, and an intended hour can easily turn into two hours.

After a couple of hours, I decided it was time to head inside. I didn’t feel like I’d gotten a sunburn, and I had gotten quite a few things done that I had wanted to. On my way back to my garage, I saw my neighbor in her yard. I hadn’t seen her in awhile, and it’s always nice to chat for a few minutes. You know how an hour in the yard can quickly turn into two for me? Well, a few minutes of chatting can quickly turn into an hour with my neighbor and me.

I could tell that I had a burn

Once I got back inside my house after talking with my neighbor, I could tell that my skin felt hot. A quick look in the mirror showed that I had the rosy glow of a sunburn. Ugh....this was not at all what I needed, not that there is ever a good time to have a sunburn. I had an appointment coming up in a couple of days with my dermatologist for a skin check. And I had on my skin an outline of the tank top that I had been wearing outside that morning.

The sunburn shame

There was no hiding it – I would be doing the sunburn walk of shame at my appointment. I’ve had skin cancer for over 24 years. I know better. I usually do better. I went to Cabo for spring break; I spent a week at the beach there and I didn’t get a sunburn. I went to Key West for my daughter’s 21st birthday; I spent hours each day at the pool, and I didn’t get a sunburn. I stood in my driveway talking with my neighbor for an hour, and I got a sunburn. Go figure.

My dermatologist gave me ‘the look’ when she saw the remnants of my sunburn. I was busily trying to not make eye contact with her. I confessed that I got a little too much sun over the weekend, and she said she noticed. That’s all she said about it (thankfully), because she knew that I knew better.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda

What could and should I have done differently? I should have paid closer attention to the amount of time I’d spent outside that day. Sunscreen needs reapplied approximately every two hours when outdoors (including cloudy days), according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

I didn’t reapply. Prior to my sunburning chat with my neighbor, I’d been doing yard work for almost two hours. Had I gone inside right after I finished, I probably would have been safe from the sunburn. Instead, right around noon – when the sun’s rays were the strongest – I spent another hour outside.  I was wearing a sleeveless shirt, not a long-sleeve shirt. It wasn’t overly hot outside, and cooler temperatures can make us erroneously think that we won’t get a sunburn.

Onward and upward

There were a number of things I did wrong that day as far as sun safety. This was a good reminder to me, though, that the sun’s rays can get you when you least expect it and when you’re not even thinking about it. And now I can only hope that the sunburn I got doesn’t show up as skin cancer down the road.