Yesterday started like every other morning, with me tricking the kids into putting sunscreen on before heading to school.

 
They have unanimously agreed the miniature, sample-size, roll on sticks of sunscreen that come free with the larger bottles with actual sunscreen inside are the only reasonable way to expect to wear any kind of sun protection.
Yesterday was a little different in that I knew the girls were going to be outside at school all day and despite the weather wizards calling for rain, I needed to be sure they would be safe to roam the streets in t-shirts.

 
I used the art of distraction to spray Ellie’s exposed legs quickly with the SPF 60 UVA/UVB protection before she had a chance to run in the opposite direction. When she turned to me to complain, I nailed her right in the centre of her v-neck shirt. Sun-protected neck—check.

 
Hanna has decided now that she’s eleven, in addition to her parents, sunscreen is next on the list (a distant second) of things that are no longer cool.

 
I can’t think of a reasonable excuse to not wear sunscreen but we were in a full hand-over-the-bottle-hostage negotiation until the moment the bus arrived to pick her up for school.

 
I hugged her and was able to lather behind her ears without her knowing and squirted the bottle in her direction getting a decent portion of her lower calf on just the one side.

Good enough.
I spent the better part of my day visiting the school to watch their track & field events and went to bed last night proud of my kids for showing up and trying their best.

 
If not for the one, small bit of discomfort I just can’t shake after such a long day.

 
I have a terrible sunburn.