Day 318: Daily Dose

Do you think a person would still get a tan if they sunbathed in the winter? I mean, I know it would be unbearably cold and there may even be a risk of getting frost-bitten but could a tan actually be achieved if one was willing to tough it out? Strange question, I know, but it oddly crossed my mind when I stepped outside at lunchtime to take in my daily dose of vitamin D. Why anyone in their right mind would even consider sunbathing in the winter cold is beyond me but there might be that desperate person, craving a bit of color in the height of the one season in which we, or at least I, seem to become more pale. I could understand it. I really could.

Having lived in Sweden now going on my third winter, I have learned my lesson about seeking out as much sunshine as possible. If the sun happens to be out on a particular day and I just so happened to have brought my own lunch to work, I still escape to the outdoors for a brief ten to fifteen minutes to taken in a bit of sunshine before heading back in to enjoy my lunch in the warm office. Or if it happens to be a weekend morning and the sun is shining gloriously, waiting to go out even an hour later could lead to regret and anguish, as by then the sun might be happily tucked away behind some clouds, never to come out again for the rest of the day. The moral of this story? Go on out and get your sunshine, get your dose of vitamin D, at the first glimpse of sun that you see. Sometimes the sun goes on vacation during the winter and very seldom does it give notice.

Today must have been my lucky day because I was able to take in a double dose. The sun was shining brilliantly this morning as I rode my bike to work. And even though I was all bundled up against the -3 Celsius temperature, it somehow felt warmer than I expected it would. Unfortunately I doubt if I will have any tan lines to show for it. This time of year my face is the only part of me exposed to the sun.

I look just like Kenny from South Park most of the winter. :-D