An ode to my umbrella

The sun in May is, to put it mildly, a scorcher. Step out without a cap and you can feel your brains being addled and fried in a manner that would allow you to serve them scooped out straight from the cranium. Such gory imagery apart, the sun is cruel. The skin is ageing. Patching and pigmentation is happening. Wrinkling is happening. Much looking at self in mirror first thing in the morning and screaming in horror is happening.
The sunscreen is being slathered on but does that really help? I don’t know. A cap was plonked on head every time I stepped out into the harsh sunlight but one had to angle face downwards in shy, new bride manner so that the entire face gets into the shade. Did that help? A bit, I guess.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, the mater took cursory critical appraisal of the facial skin and pronounced her judgement, “You’re looking old. All your skin is wrinkled up and patchy and looking grubby like you haven’t washed it.”
After I’d finished bawling my lungs out in the bathroom, I took a serious look at what I could do to avoid the skin getting worse. Sunscreen. Check. Cap. Check. Staying out of the sun as much as I could. Check. And then the mater spoke.
“Why don’t you use an umbrella?”
After I’d finished rolling around on the floor laughing my guts out, and picked and dusted self off, I asked her if she was serious. “An umbrella. A parasol. Really?” Yes, she replied, she was. The mater never steps out into the sun without an umbrella. And at 74, I think her skin is less lined than mine is. I cast an eye over her skin, while not glowing translucently by any standards, was unlined enough to make me put on the sunglasses to hide mine cobwebs. I decided I must just brave being laughed at or having small kids follow me, throwing stones. A small umbrella, given to me by my mother in law, was placed in the handbag and religiously opened whenever I stepped out into full UVA and UVB situation. I have just about stopped feeling ridiculous, and no one has thrown stones at me yet. I am learning to ignore the wise guys who go, “Kitni baarish ho rahi hai.’ as I pass. The skin? Is it better behaved, is it looking any better? I don’t know yet, its been only a couple of weeks, and I hope to get a more definite answer soon, but I do know that the migraines have lessened and that in itself makes it a compelling argument to tote said umbrella around with me wherever I go.
Now that I think of it, I wonder why we hesitate to carry an umbrella into the sun? I remember make up maestro Cory Walia telling me yonks ago, the only thing that will keep your skin looking great as you age is staying out of the sun and carrying an umbrella. I wish I had listened to him, seriously taken his advice. But better late than never. Anti wrinkle cream and pigmentation tackling cream will be slathered on at night and sunscreen with SPF 30 and PAAA+ slathered on in the day. AND the umbrella carried along for added protection. Never mind if most folks look at me suspiciously and give me a wide berth as I pass by.
Hopefully, the skin will start behaving soon enough. And I stick to carrying the umbrella around without eventually getting tired of that one extra thing in my handbag which has everything and the kitchen sink in it. Ah, well, but that is another post.

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