The sun is high beaming at almost 98 degrees and I’m sweating in the backseat, hoping for the little breeze of mercy to relieve the unbearable stale air. It’s a bright Saturday morning and I’m on my way to the beach with my mom, my sister and her best friend. Showered and packed, we all headed out to Coney Island in my cousin Mama’s car with her two kids. Sitting there for almost an hour, I thought I was going to pass out.
Once we arrived at the Coney Island beach I was so grateful to know that the big cool ocean was only a few feet away. We grabbed a bunch of umbrellas and headed out to our destination spot. We had to meet up with a bunch of my family members and my cousin who had time off to see his family before having to leave back to Iraq. So it was a comfort for everyone to know that after all that time he is still okay. So once my cousin met up with us on the boardwalk he led the way to where my family had settled down, dragging the cooler in one hand and carrying the folded chair in the other.
The sand was scorching hot and I was irritated. My mom wouldn’t stop babbling on how she wanted to get darker fast and giving me the parental check-up, wondering if I had sunscreen lotion and if I drank enough water. Usually I would have a conversation with her, but it was too hot and I hate talking to anyone in heat, it’s like my brain stops functioning because I’m solely focused on the water refreshing my dry hot skin.
After a few feet of walking on shells and burning hot sand, we met up with my loud crazy family. They are playing music, relaxing and some were swimming. I threw my bags down and as I’m getting my exclusive spot ready to rest so I can tan, my mom once again starts talking about how she wants color, but this time to my cousin’s wife.
My cousin’s wife offered a way to get a “better” faster tan with a homemade remedy she had mixed in a spray bottle. In the container there was glycerin, coco-cola and baby oil. Now I do not know what will happen if you put all those contents in 98 degree weather on your skin and I wanted to get a nice tan as well, but I was too cautious. I’m glad I was because later that night I saw the results.
My mom wanted color and she was bright red like a clown’s nose with a frown. She was roasted like a shish kabob. She waddled like a penguin and was in so much pain. I was grateful that I refused the shortcut to getting a “better” tan and relied on my good old-fashioned tanning oil. In the end, however, we all cooked and got some type of burn. We all spent a week putting on different Aloe creams to cool down our skin, but my favorite one was Noxzema. Some people use it to clear up acne, but I used it to cool the burning sensation that remained on my skin days later.
My life lesson was learned that day. I learned the true meaning of sayings such as be careful what you wish for and patience is a virtue. Great sayings when you want to refrain from being in pain.