"But trust me on the sunscreen"

I should have paid better attention to Baz Luhrmann's words of caution in his musical tribute to the class of '99. Last week I got burned -- bad.

A brief science lesson: For those of you who don't know, California is positioned closer to the Equator than northern parts of the United States. This results in a more direct hit from the sun. If you are not a native Californian (as I am not), you'll do well to remember this little factoid. And no, you don't have to be in a bathing suit at the beach for sun poisoning to happen. In my case, a Padre game on a *mildly* warm day was the perfect storm. I looked like a lobster. And it didn't help that I hadn't been drinking much water since our arrival.

It began the day after with a sneak attack of dizziness and a touch of nausea, which subsided for awhile. The dizzy spells came and went for the next couple days, until I started crashing Wednesday night and got progressively worse Thursday. I couldn't keep anything down so dehydration became a major concern. It took most of the day to get my strength up just to get in the car and ride to the local ER. Seven hours later, I was fluid again, thanks to the IV, and on my bumbling way with prescriptions for Pepcid and something with a long name that --get this-- "may cause DIZZINESS." Ya, I'll get right on taking that one!

The next few days were a blur. I could eat a little lunch without losing it, but the vertigo-like feeling kept pushing back our travel plans. (Did I mention we drove instead of flew?) We finally made it home late Sunday night, but it still cost me two days of work. Superman was exceptionally super through all of this, needless to say.

Yesterday at about 4:15 p.m., the fog began to lift. The clouds parted, birds began singing, and I could feel my brain slowly but surely start to normalize. At my worst, I felt as if I were wearing permanent dark glasses with water in my ears as someone gently pressed a board down on my head -- oh, and filled with enough alcohol to keep the room spinning and my feet from walking a straight line. Not a very practical state of mind :)

But I'm feeling better every day, and this was an opportunity for me to slow down and respect the elements (I often fancy myself indestructible because I'm usually quite sturdy). It also made me grateful for my health and that I don't live with chronic pain or a life-threatening disease. My short-lived discomfort is a way of life for many. Lord, let me not take my well-being for granted -- what a gift!

The "vacation" was not a total loss:
- Traveling 50 mph down an unpaved mountain road in the dark to keep tail lights in view (the highway shut down 2 1/2 hours into our first night of travel so a semi driver lead the way through a perilous alternate route)
+ Attending my second MLB game ever
+ Rediscovering Disneyland
+ Meeting my husband's mentor and family from his Campus Crusade for Christ days
- Losing $ on three hotel rooms due to unavoidable changes of plans
+ Introducing Superman to a most "awesome" great uncle
+++ Enjoying the care and hospitality of a family who made us feel we were right at home

If you are traveling this summer, be sure to drink lots of water -- just in case you find your skin extra pink, wanting to avoid an ER visit. And trust me on the sunscreen.