Feeling young and looking young

Photo by Amy Carroll Photography

I went over to my parent's yesterday to help out with a digital picture frame we had bought them as a wedding gift. That didn't go so well, but I won't get into all of the I-hate-technology details here. I was reminded that I hope I got my Mama's genes - because I am always astounded by how young she looks. Not that she's OLD, of course, and no I won't reveal her actual age. :) Let's just say she was in her 30's when she had me. I'm pretty sure she has done this by doing something doctors tell us to do all the time. Avoiding the sun! She burns easy, so she has no choice but to use sunscreen and stay away from those rays. I try to keep that in mind and I am proud, in a strange way, of how pale I stayed this summer. Yes, a tan is nice, and I still get a little color in my skin, but I don't want to have a face lift at age 38 either.

I have probably been to the tanner about 10-20 times in my life. Not a lot. I think I'll make a vow never to go again. When I think about it, I get this eerie feeling that generations down, people will think it was crazy that people went to tanners. I can just see them saying, "Wait, they purposefully put themselves under proven cancer-causing and wrinkle-inducing rays? Wait, wait, they PAID for this to happen? So those crazy people back then thought that turning thier skin a few shades darker was more important than avoiding cancer?"

Hey, I'm still vain, and I haven't fully learned to love the pale of my skin. I'd like to test out some self-tanners. My Mama gave me a few before the wedding that I didn't end up using. Now that it's becoming cold and I can cover any streaky/blotchy/ucky mishaps with clothing I may crack them open.