Dearest Rachel -
I hardly need to tell you that I'm nobody's sun worshiper. Ra, Aton, Helios… they're all utterly foreign to me. That being said, I understand the need to get oneself the proper amount of vitamin D even if I don't always remember the proper dosage; when I went to restock my pills for this trip, I got a bottle of pills with 1000 IU rather than the 5000 IU I've been taking at home. I tried to justify the mistake to myself by claiming I was going to get more sun on this trip purely from being outside.
I'm also able to appreciate the look of a good, even tan – despite the fact that I don't generally have the patience (or the lack of modesty) to lie around and get one for myself. There's something to be said for a properly bronzed form that undeniably has its appeal. However, just as with working out, it takes a certain… I won't say effort, as such, but as a general rule, it's something that I don't have, in order to properly attain it.
However, this morning, I arrived at a rather surprising discovery that I just had to share with you about. I'll start out with the fact that I finally slept late enough to miss the actual sunrise this morning; it's probably aided by the fact that the sun rises that much earlier on this side of the equator, as, down here, it's summer that's just starting to wind down, and the days start earlier and extend longer than they do back home for now (although this near to the equator, it's probably a pretty even split year-round between day and night; still, that's more daytime than I've been getting back home, or even in L.A. or Honolulu).
Now, since we're headed generally south, and my cabin is on the port side, my cabin faces the east, meaning that I get to see the sunrise – assuming I wake up early enough. What didn't cross my mind until this morning was the fact that, once it rises, the sun continues to stream into my room for several hours thereafter. This would seem perfectly obvious to anyone with half a brain (and you're entitled to make whatever comments about me you like in that regard), but what didn't click with me until this morning are the ramifications of its presence within my cabin.
Since my bed extends for nearly the entire width of my room, there's a large swath of it upon which I can lie and soak up the sun's rays right from here. I don't even have to get dressed and go topside to do so. I can simply lie here in air-conditioned comfort, and still get the same solar benefits. Why, I don't even have to concern myself with getting tan lines if I don't want to; in the privacy of my own cabin, it doesn't matter what I might or might not wear. To be sure, it also doesn't matter if I bother to do this in the first place – who's going to see it, anyway? – but it's nice to have the option to do this. It's just one more benefit of a room with a balcony that never crossed my mind until this morning, as well as one more way that I can get my money's worth out of such a room.
Of course, there are also the dangers of overdoing it; anything can burn, after all, and those areas that much less used to it probably that much more so. Fortunately, the sun doesn't stay in one position in the sky; as it rises further, it eventually reaches a point where it ascends beyond the roof of my balcony. Essentially, I have this literal window of opportunity of no more than an hour and a half (half of which I'd already missed by not recognizing what I had in front of me) to take advantage of my very own literal tanning bed. And while 45 minutes is certainly quite sufficient to burn myself, if I'm not careful, I'm doing what I can to make sure that I'm giving myself an overall treatment, and not allowing any one place to be exposed for too long; I have to make sure each side of me gets some dosage of vitamin D.
It's true, honey; I will never be an expert practitioner of the art of tanning. I barely have the desire to lie around like this as it is, even though I'm occupying myself with this letter to you, as I do so. But given the opportunities presented before me, as long as I recognize them, it would be silly for me not to take advantage of them. And so, while I acknowledge the One who gives us the sun rather than the sun itself, I should hope He would be merciful enough to allow me to enjoy these benefits He's so graciously extended to me, and minimize any potential downside of this newfound opportunity and ability.
As for you, honey, I would appreciate it if you would continue to keep an eye on me (I mean, you might actually appreciate how this looks on me), and wish me luck, as I'm probably going to need it.
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