The Trials of Being a Redhead

As a kid I hated being a redhead. Anyone who has ever been blessed with such a vibrant color of hair can attest to the taunts and teasing from schoolmates. I had always wanted to dye my hair the darkest shade of black possible, and might have even tried if I hadn't been scared off of the idea when reading Anne of Green Gables. The thought of my hair turning out a horrid shade of green still makes shivers run up and down my back.

Being a redhead has grown on me (get it? Grown on me?) over the years, but there are still three distinct things that drive me nuts.

First, try finding a decent color to wear when the shades that look best with your hair look awful with your skin tone (are all the guys groaning right about now?). My hair looks great with jewel tones, but my skin prefers pastels. I know. It's awful.

Second, the freckles. I had a gym teacher (this was back in the day when elementary schools still had gym teachers) who was covered from head to toe in freckles. Though it was mean of me to think it, I never wanted to be like her. Of course the only way to avoid all those freckles is to hide away from the sun at all possible times. Being a hermit isn't all bad. I tried it for a few years. Unfortunately it can get pretty lonely. Of course now my goal is to see all of my freckles meld into one giant freckle, making me look as though I have the most awesome tan ever!

The third problem, and the one which keeps my ultimate goal at bay, is that my skin burns in 0.2 seconds. In fact, I'm pretty sure I just have to look out the window and my skin reddens at the mere thought of what might happen if I dared to venture out.

I walked to pick up my kids from school today. I couldn't have been out for more than half an hour. Tonight I'm sporting a lovely shade of red all down my arms, my nose, my face, etc. It's simply not fun.

Ooo, great sunburn remedy. In sixth grade our school class went swimming one day. Being the brilliant young lady you all know and love, I forgot sunscreen. Later that night my skin was almost purple, it was so bad. So I sat myself down in front of an electric fan with a bottle of aloe vera in hand. For the next few hours I repeatedly applied the aloe vera and let the fan cool me down. I was the only kid in class the next day not sporting blisters. Just a thought.

Try to stay cool people! This summer could be a scorcher.