The Doctor Said It, So It Must Be True

I am normal. I am better than normal, in fact, thankyouverymuch!

That’s right – I had my first-ever skin exam yesterday and the dermatologist told me that my skin was “perfectly normal. Better than what we’d expect to see from a fair-skinned person.”

And that made me exceedingly happy. I’d been so nervous about my exam, least of all because of the sit-naked-and-be-poked-prodded-stared-at-under-a-very-bright-light nature of the thing.

I was worried about the childhood scorchings, the ill-advised year of tanning salon experimentation in college (where I learned that even in a tanning booth I burn, then turn white again), golf, my chemical peel-like sunburn after summiting Mt Kilimanjaro (secret to my youthful appearance), running, and in general, my forgetfulness in putting on sunscreen most days.

Yet here I am: Perfectly Normal.

That’s a nice thing to hear now and then.