Sun, Sun, Go Away!

I have always had a love affair with the sun.  Nothing brings me more serenity than the combination of the warm sun on my face, the scent of the earth, digging in the dirt, muddy toes, and an occasional cool breeze.  Maybe it’s my inner child that it invokes. Some how, the sunny weather has always been so inspiring…  Cat naps on a hot afternoon, a mist from a hose, the days of summer. 

Recently though, the sun and I have had a falling out.  There is a thin line between love and hate, you know.  I am not supposed to spend too much time with the sun.  I start getting headaches, and when I get too hot I feel exhausted. This has been very stressful on our relationship.    

Yesterday was a bright and sunny day.  I found myself wishing the sun would just go away.  Dominic was dying to go outside and play in the sun, but, like a stick in the mud, I kept trying to explain to him that I could not be in the sun.  Yeah, try to explain that to a four year old!  His little heart was crushed.  So finally, I decided that I could not let him down.   Even if it meant getting a headache, I was going to take him outside to play.  I cautiously proceeded outside.  I started calculating what I could do to make it work.

I ended up hooking up his turtle sprinkler in the yard.  I parked a lawn chair in the shade of the eves, and sat back and enjoyed.  A cold glass of water in my hand, helped keep me from getting to hot. It was perfect.  He was smiling and overjoyed that I was outside with him, and I was smiling and overjoyed that I was outside with him too!  I was able to relax, and he was able to play, I killed two birds with one stone.  He squealed with excitement, jumping through the water and my admiration for the sun, started to return. 

See I had let my perspective get skewed because I was just so tired. I had done too much and my brain apparently was near mush.  When I stopped and thought about it, there really was a way that I could do both.  This got me thinking, come summer, I just need a plan so I’m not stuck inside all day.  I am going to get a stand up mister, a comfortable lounge chair, and find a nice shady spot.  The mister will keep me from getting too hot, and the lounge chair will provide a comfy, relaxing spot.  I might even have to find myself a big floppy hat.  I will be glamorous, basking in all my pale glory.  Instead of saying I am sick, I will just tell people I’m trying to maintain my porcelain hue!  There is a way I can still have a relationship with the sun!

This whole “the mom that could” is really a work in progress.  Each day when I write my blog it is a reminder to myself.  I have to practice focusing on what I can do, not dwell on what I cannot.  Wishing the sun away is obviously not something I can do and even if I could, it isn’t really what I’d want to happen.  I can learn to have a loving relationship with the sun again, we just have to have some healthy boundaries.  For me, it’s just going to take a little planning ahead. J