Heating Up

Inspirational song: Walkin' on the Sun (Smash Mouth)

That's it. I'm already done. Early June and it's already like living on the surface of the sun. I had to go out a couple of times today, and it hurt so badly. I don't remember being quite this sensitive to the heat and light combined. I never liked being in the sun (at least, since I was in my late teens or early twenties), but since when do I completely collapse like I'm made of overwhipped egg whites when I go outside? This morning I could mostly slink in the shade of buildings, and I did okay. This afternoon, I attempted to move some firewood across the yard, into my daughter's car parked in the alley, and I was weak as a kitten trying to move in the heat.

Thank goodness it still cools off at night. I open up the house wide and crank the fans, and it gets down to comfortable sleeping temperatures by around midnight. Then first thing in the morning, before it warms up much, I go around and close the windows and curtains to keep the cool air in. It works reasonably well, but eventually by late afternoon it's miserable in here. I'm going to have to burn some of my reserved cash and get a whole house fan this year, and it will slow down how much I need to use my small air conditioner. I am going to fight investing in a new central air unit as long as I can. Surely I'm tough enough to survive two and a half months of misery each year for a few more years.

I am totally overwhelmed by how many serious athletes live in this county or near enough to it to be out on bikes or on foot all during the summer, pushing themselves along the county roads, sweating bullets in the sun. Last weekend was some sort of Iron Man competition, the sort of thing that ties up roads frequently out here. There's a bike race every few weekends, and I bounce between being mildly annoyed that I have to be diverted and being impressed that anyone can function in the heat and light, especially at a competitive level. I suppose it would be something to be proud of, to have that ability. I can only imagine--from my dark, cool cave of a room.