My brain is singing today. It is filled with the joy that is sunshine in the middle of a Seattle winter. It is dancing and tripping and gurgling in the spittle of its own giddy Vitamin-D-overdosed hysteria. Did you ever see the SUN?! I did. Today in fact.
The light next to my bed is set on a timer to turn on and flood my face with light half an hour before my alarm goes off. My shrinker thought it would be a good idea to remind my brain what light looks like and simulate sunrise and something about moods and SAD-ness since the sun is not seen to rise in the Puget Sound area for several months each year.
My naturopath took out around ¾ of my blood last week and tested it for several things like vitamins, minerals, chemicals and cutenesses. Despite being ridiculously adorable, my blood is very low in Vitamin D and he suggested I come by his office and pick up a supplement today. I bailed. We were having too much fun in the sun, soaking up D the good old-fashioned way and eating sand because I think my blood is also low in sand. Well, not anymore.
We headed to the park where we met up with some friends. The kids bounced around like air molecules in a 7th grade science animation, smashing into each other and leaving socks, shoes and grapes scattered for acres. Laylee and Magoo took turns playing in the sand volleyball pit and the children’s play area which are located on opposite sides of the park, careful to avoid ever both being in my sightline at the same time.
I stood between them like an oscillating sprinkler, swiveling from one side to the other as I chatted with other oscillating moms, rarely making eye contact but hardly pausing for a breath as we gabbed away. And the sun was beautiful.
At some point Laylee’s friend Missy asked for her sunglasses back. She had leant them to Laylee who wore them around like a be-pony-tailed rock star for approximately 10 seconds before digging a hole from the sand volleyball pit to the center of the earth and dropping them in. She then filled in the hole and patted it down.
When we asked her to dig them up again, she began a frantic search which was honestly more “frantic” than it was a “search.” Eve explained that glasses should probably never be buried in the sand because it could scratch them and because they could possibly be lost forever.
Laylee was concerned. She said she didn’t know the rule about glasses and sand before but now she did and she wouldn’t bury them ever again. Her main problem in retrieving them was that “somebody moved the X.”
Apparently she had placed a small X made out of grass or debris or microscopic pollen flecks and someone had come along and accidentally moved it. We spent the next several minutes doing our best Stanley Yelnats impression before Eve told us not to worry about it.
So instead we turned our attention to Magoo. He’s much bigger than sunglasses and he moves around a bit more but we still made sure to mark him with an immoveable X, just in case the sunshine made us forgetful.
I hope you will consider trying the Vitamin D supplement. It is very common to have a deficiency in it and often times spending time in the sun just isn’t enough. Having the right amount of Vitamin D can help with so many things: joint/muscle pain, immunity, depression and more. I started a supplement a couple months ago through my doctor’s care and I feel like it has made a great difference.
FIRST COMMENT! Wahoo!
And, um, I, also LOVE the sun! It was SOOOO sunny here in VA yesterday – can anyone say “spring fever in February”?? And – Magoo is DARLING!
Awesome.
the sun. the glasses. the pictures. it’s all awesome.
I often feel that someone has moved my X…that’s why I forget things!!
Your cuties are so pinchable; and I’m totally green with envy over your sunshine!!
BTW, I too have an anti-SAD sunlamp…love it. 🙂
I MUST have a copy of the Magoo picture to frame for my sewing room. He is growing up for sure and the picture I have is not nearly old enough, or cute enough. I’m so glad you all had a lovel day – sunglasses not with standing!
When we lived on the beach, (oh yes! Best time of my life!) we loved to go for a walk on a Monday and pick up all of the wonderful things that had been buried, and then uncovered by the sea. We had the best collection of shovels in the WORLD! Whole trucks were found, half-uncovered by the tide.
And, I think that frolicking in the sun is way better for the soul than a vitamin D pill. If you can do it!
What a fun spirit-lifting post. This was my little bit of fun on our cloudy, gray day.
I swear I just made the”bouncing aorund like molecules” analogy to my husband just.theother.day. Lol!
I know the feeling! Today driving home from preschool we saw a lady with a tank top, reeeeeeeally short shorts and knee high socks on . . . going for a walk. Dude, I know it was sunny, but it was still 43 degrees in LS. No time to break out the tank tops sista!
But Laylees barefeet? Completely acceptable!
Great story! I still remember seeing the sun for the first time after a 10-day inversion. I couldn’t believe how joyful a little sunlight could make me. I felt giddy, as if I could fly.
Oh, the sun. We actually saw some of that today, too. It’s melting the great ice driveway into the great slush driveway, but I don’t care because the sky was blue and the sun was shining. Who cares if it’s only 30 degrees.
after spending years in france and germany, i totally hear you about the sun!!! i’m a native CA girl, and i must must have it. i am so glad you all got some today (or yesterday, whenever it was). i will have to invest in some Vit D if we ever move back to the country of gray skies all winter long. here in NC we get a ton of it. i got a great tan when we were living in texas too. LOVED the sun there.
I remember when we lived in Norway and we had months where the sun was only up behind the clouds for a few hours in the day, and even when the days got longer in the spring, the sunny days were few and far between. But, like you, the Norwegians knew that on those rare sunny days, they had to leave their normal routine and go outside and soak it up! Maybe schools and businesses in grey-climate areas should declare “sun” days (as opposed to “snow” days) where people are compelled to leave office and classrooms and go outside and revel in the sunshine. Loved the pictures!
Sunshine, sunshine, wherefore art thou Sunshine??? And when you show up, Sunshine, could you bring along your friends, 50 degrees and Warmer? Thanks! DYM: glad you had a lovely day at the park.
Ahh Sun I am so jealous.