Sunshine
Remember when you were a teenager and you would lay out on the roof with your best friend, all lathered in baby oil. In one day, you would go from white to cocoa bean. The big decision of the day was what time should we turn over so both sides were equally tan.
My naturopath strongly recommends getting twenty minutes of sunshine without sunscreen. I love my naturopath. Living here in Seattle we are all vitamin D deficient, she believes. And my recent blood draw shows just that, D deficient.
I’m not like I was when I was a teenager living my summer days to get brown and I haven’t fake baked since my wedding. These days sitting in the sunshine for twenty minutes is all I need. I turn my chair to the warmth. Remove my sunglasses, close my eyes and go into a quiet place. The heat soothes me, sitting still centers me, and just being for a moment helps me find my breath.
Instead of worrying about skin cancer I am filling my cup. It doesn’t take long. Sometimes 10 minutes in between swim lessons, carpooling and making lunch is exactly what the doctor ordered. I am a new woman with color in my cheeks, remembering how to breathe.
Filling my cup with sunshine and quiet as the house sleeps.