Trial And Error

Have this on hand

   The boys went white water rafting with the scouts this past weekend.  Both of them came back sunburned.  It just goes to show, you can buy sunscreen, you can pack it for them, but if you can't be there to remind them or even apply it for them...well, sunburn happens.  Boys will be boys at any age.
   My husband's burn didn't really give him much of a problem.  He was even outside yesterday afternoon grilling in the hot sun.  He grilled chicken breasts, shrimp, and a steak for our youngest (a special request).  I think the phase of eating everything in sight has finally hit.  We are all in for quite a ride.
   Our eldest boy can still go through a gallon a milk a day.  I got to the point last summer when I just couldn't keep up.  I asked if he would go to the store and get the milk.  I'd see him coming down the road toting his gallons as if he'd discovered a new weight to work out with.  Not a bad idea.  If you ask me, those jugs of milk are heavy enough to do a few curls.
   Anyway, we were putting the food out when our youngest came upstairs.  He literally had the shivers from the sunburn.  The uncontrollable itch was making it impossible for him to focus on his homework.  At first, we tried giving him bags of frozen veggies, but he couldn't hold them on both arms at once and still write in his notebook.
   We suggested he take a break, have some dinner, and relax a bit...thought diving into steak and corn on the cob would take his mind off the irritating itch.  He came upstairs even more upset.  He couldn't even eat.  This was serious.
   So, we stopped everything and ran a bath with that Aveeno powder (for itch).  He lay in there a while, but said even that wasn't really working.  I decided to do what I always do when I have a question about something...I hit the internet.  I found a couple of sites with recommendations for relieving sunburn itch.  Unfortunately, vinegar was out of the question.  We don't keep it in the house.  I am allergic to vinegar.  So, I kept searching.  Finally, I found a site that recommended Banana Boat Aloe After Sun Gel.  I lucked out.  We had some under the bathroom sink, left over from last year.
   At this point, he was willing to try anything and so was mom.  I did my best to not say what my mother would, "serves you right.  Next time, you'll put on that sunscreen, huh?"  It was breaking my heart to see my child in such agony.  He didn't need a lecture to make it worse.  When I put it on, he initially jumped from the cool on his hot skin.  His skin just soaked it up.  I applied the gel three, maybe four times in two hours.  During this time, he was able to eat some dinner, finish his homework, even take an on line quiz.  I tried to give him some privacy so he could focus, but I came down to check on him...see how he was coming along.  He asked if I'd sit with him while he did a little more homework.  After a few minutes, he looks over at me and says,"Thanks Mom...for everything."  I had to hold back the tears.  I knew that simple "thank you" had come from deep down.  You don't get moments like that every day, but when you do, you never forget them.  I guess we both learned something this weekend.  He learned if you go into the sun without protection, you get burned...and that's a really bad thing.  I learned that Banana boat makes an aloe gel that provides relief...when they forget...as they often do... You can't be with them every minute, but you can hope, even without constant parental guidance...through a little trial and error, they will remember the important things.