This is a controversial post. Today I'm thankful for tanning beds (gasp!!!). I use them for a short time period approximately every two years (that would be how often I'm allowed to go on a tropical vacation). We're getting ready to go on a beach vacation in a couple of weeks and I firmly believe that a few minutes in a tanning bed is healthier than burning to a crisp once we hit that tropical sun. I even send my kids in for a few sessions. We don't arrive at our destination looking like we've already been there for 3 months but we do arrive with some ultra violet exposure so that I can honestly say that none of us have ever burned on a trip.
Enough of my justification. Preventing sun burn is only one reason why I enjoy tanning beds. When you come into the salon from a blistery, frigid wind with snow pelting your face and then have those heat rays penetrate the very core of your dermis (makes no sense - I know. Trying to make tanning poetic here!). Well, it's a very warming sensation, right to your core. I leave happier (scientific evidence for that too but I won't go into that now) and warmer and for awhile, I have cheated winter. I'll only do it for another week and then I probably won't see another tanning salon for two years, but for today, I'm thankful for that tropical heat in a northern climate. A.
