Sunburn

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Not this past Friday, but the one before that, one of Brother's friends called up and invited Brother and Peachy to go out boating with their family. Our two children spent a wonderful, fun, adventurous day wake boarding, tubing and swimming in a nearby lake. This was one of their first all day in the sun activities without a Sunscreen Fanatic parent with them. So, they took the opportunity to be free of the yucky goop. Wooo hooo what a great teaching moment (week) this has turned out to be! They both came home with the most amazing sunburns ever known in the Homey Tanner Family. They were so miserable by that evening. Despite lotions and potions, they were terribly uncomfortable for the next several days. Brother had it so bad, he ran a slight fever the first night, and stayed on Advil for a couple days. Peachy wasn't covered so completely and didn't suffer as much. By the fourth day Brother was so sleep deprived, and sick of being in pain that every little thing made him cry. (Some of his siblings took great delight in asking him if it was "that time of month.") I let him stay home from church because I knew that some of his peers would not be able to resist the temptation to tease him and whack him on the back. I figured his mental state was not in a condition for him to deal charitibly with the good natured abuse. Brother couldn't even shower because the water hurt. He got pretty stinky by the end of the week! He also couldn't lift his arms very high, or move very well because it hurt so much. He gingerly sat on the couch and read for like 6 hours a day for 4 days in a row. (Good for his summer reading program! Bad for his physical fitness needs!) Kaylee had to do his paper route for him, and the rest of us pitched in to help him with his chores.

Anyway, it was a good lesson for them. Of course, being the wise parents we are, we took the time to point out that a few moments of "freedom" from the rules, often has longer lasting and horrible consequences. If this had happened during the school year, I probably would have been tempted to have them do an essay, or at least a journal entry about the concept. Hee hee. At any rate, I hope this will help them learn to make wiser choices on thier own. Homey and I reminiced about the days that we each got our own blistering sunburns, and how, after that, we never allowed it to happen again.

Now, the worst part (that I will not take a picture of) is they are peeling. It is so gross. Having never really experienced "peeling" all the kids found it fascinating. Wherever Brother or Peachy sits, there is a flutter of dead skin cells left behind. I am constantly yelling, "Brother, get in here and vacuum up your mess!" I never knew parents had to deal with such gross things like this! Do you think the other kids will learn from the others' mistakes? I hope so!