A couple of years ago, my son looked at me one afternoon, with his sly smile: “You should really stop talking to other parents, they’re a bad influence on you.” He was responding to some new notion I had that he should get more sun. His complexion had taken a translucent tinge, like that blue hue of skimmed milk. An afternoon with other parents and their boastful children with tanned complexions and sports trophies … and for a second I forgot who we were. A sudden surge of pa