The Heat is On

“It was always so hot, and everyone was so polite, and everything was all surface but underneath it was like a bomb waiting to go off. I always felt that way about the South, that beneath the smiles and southern hospitality and politeness were a lot of guns and liquor and secrets.”
― James McBride

I am sitting in my recliner in ragged boxer shorts and a thin white tank top, lazily fanning myself with a dog-eared copy of Better Homes and Gardens.  A lone box fan is pointed near me but all it seems to do is to stir up the heat, making it wash over me in waves.   The dogs are looking at me, sadly, lying on the couch across the room.  Neither is panting but both have paced the floors throughout the day, looking at me quizzically.  I don't think they're accustomed to such stillness from me or from the heavy air.

The ice in my water melts almost immediately, the condensation from the glass mocking me from a pool around the bottom of the coaster.  There is no music on nor television to distract me.  I am sitting in the heat...just being hot.

I have no desire to get up and clean or move at all.  I haven't done a single load of laundry.  I haven't even read much.  I'm like an old-timer on a Southern front porch, just sitting and rocking and watching the world go by.  Mostly what I'm doing is sitting here counting my blessings.

• I have electricity to move the blades of the fans in the house.  The overhead fans are whirring away and the box fans hum along on their highest setting.  I am so grateful for electricity.
• Yesterday, it rained.  I am so grateful for the rains that have cooled the air.  
• At some point, when the parts come in and when my HVAC guy can get the almost-day-long job on his schedule, I will have working air conditioning again.  I am thankful that I have a job so I can pay for this new unit.  
• I am thankful for a working refrigerator with a built-in icemaker.  How fortunate I am that I can grab a cool drink in this confounded heat!
• I am so happy that my boys were able to go the beach with their dad this last weekend.  They'll miss some of this heat since they won't return here until Tuesday night.  I am grateful to be able to teach them the lesson of how blessed we really are.  Doing without increases your appreciation for what you do have when you have it.
• I am thankful for my friends who have offered a place to stay in the heat.  I haven't taken them up on it, but I appreciate the offers.  And I am so grateful for the friendships I have.  
• I am healthy.  My boys and my animals are healthy.  I am so grateful that we have good health and are able to endure the heat without too much stress on our minds and bodies.
• I have a car so if I really need to get up and out of this heat, I can gather up the animals and we can take a drive with cool A/C!  Or, I can use the car to go buy more box fans.  Or I can go and find an air-conditioned restaurant to cool my heels in for a little while.  I am so thankful I have a car that works.  
• I am so thankful that I can be thankful.  My heart and my mind are at peace these days.  I can focus on the many, many wonderful things in life instead of dwelling on the things that may not work as well.  I am grateful that I have a heart that seeks peace.   And I am thankful that I have so many people to love. 

So, kids, enjoy your air-conditioning.  Don't worry about me over here sweating my patootie off.  Coolness will come in time.  At least night will fall in a bit (although I think I'm going to wander out of this house in just a while to bring my core temperature down a few degrees before bedtime).  Maybe I'll look at some pictures of Alaska for a while or think about my childhood years in Leadville, CO where no one has any need of air-conditioning because the altitude is greater than 10,000 feet and the average high in July is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

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