One of my kindergartners popped into the zoom room. “Do you want to know why my face is so red?” she asked. “I got sunburned when we went sledding!”
Oh, Colorado.
This student’s family recently moved here from the Midwest, and this is their first Colorado winter. I flashed back in sympathy to my own lesson-learned-the-hard-way moment many years ago.
My family moved to Colorado when I was in school at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. A Midwestern kid myself, I had only briefly visited Colorado as a teenager once. In my experience, winter equalled grey, cold, and weather forecasts that always included the words “wind chill.”
When I came out for Thanksgiving break to my parents’ new home, I was shocked by the November weather. It was all blue skies and warm enough to not just be outside in short sleeves but to comfortably sit on the deck reading.
It didn’t even occur to me that I might get a sunburn in November. . . but I was roasted toasted in short order.
A painful lesson, for sure.
My mom said, in that way that only someone brand new to a place who is suddenly an expert on that place, “Well, you know, we’re closer to the sun here in Colorado!”
I remember thinking, “We’re not THAT much closer to the sun.”
Running to School 
Hey! A fellow Illinois grad. I-L-L! (Sorry. It’s a reflex.) And…only out west in the mountains can you manage a sunburn AND snow play at the same time. All we’ve got in IL is frostbite, windburn, and the possibility of snow any time between September and May. =)
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Oh, that’s awesome! Small world. I have fond memories of an Illinois winter adventure that led to some frostbite on one ear.
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Ha! My husband still has a tiny little spot on one of his ears from going sledding with his buddies on a way-too-cold day. I still think I’d prefer the sunburn option.
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This made me smile! I love the line, “I was roasted toasted in short order.” and the way you imply an eye-roll as your mom explains exactly what happened. So glad you chose to stay!
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Ha, your exchange with your mom is hilarious. Reminds me of a conversation with my mom, or with my daughter. I can be in either role. I have never gotten a sunburn in November in MI. Crazy to imagine.
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