I am trying my best to channel this snowman right now. To really get a grasp on how it feels to be cold..actually, I would settle for feeling even remotely cool. We live in a house, in a city, without any sort of air conditioning. Most times this is okay with me, we just sleep in the basement. However, after more than a few days of extreme heat (for our neck of the woods anyway) without reprieve at night, even our basement gets to be close to 30 degrees. It is at this point that I start to get squirrely....start to feel broken. I have a list of things to do, but find it hard to be motivated to do anything that involves movement.
I am conducting a personal study in the relationship between when ones' birthday falls and their ability to cope with certain temperatures....I am a February baby and thus I prefer colder temps. Hazel the same. Abbey is a summer sprite and does enjoy this weather while Raine is a spring baby and can therefore cope with either. I have only run into a few circumstances (namely Michael whose birthday is December 22, yet he prefers warm to cold) where this theory does not make any sense. Anyone care to weigh in on this one?
But I digress....I called this post "guilt" because this morning I felt completely broken. In order to be home with my girls I take care of a couple of little ones during the day. I was worried about making them sleep in the crazy conditions in our house. So, Michael went out and bought a portable air conditioner today. But now I feel so guilty about the electricity consumption that I have myself convinced that we need to take it back. But it is too hot.
We go to the wading pool, have smoothies for snack, and I promised Hazel that we would get gelato for dinner. The temperature has to break eventually right?!
Oh my. You summed up how I'm feeling so perfectly. I'm also a February baby and wonder if most crimes of "passion" are committed in this kind of extreme heat, by mothers who cannot bear to have one more sticky child clinging to them. My facebook update this morning stated that I was "Hot and cross...I'm a hot cross bun". I just can't cope.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about air conditioning this morning and here's what I came up with: we don't expect our bodies to tolerate extreme cold, and therefore heat our homes. Furnaces consume tons of energy and fuel. So why do we make ourselves suffer through extreme heat? I don't particularly like A/C, and can't see myself using it except when it's like it is in the Ottawa area right now. It's too hot to even make the effort to go to the beach, sometimes! We just park ourselves in front of a fan. I hear you, sheepish. Put on the A/C and just enjoy it before you kill someone!
Just to add to my short note: I also wonder about cultural heritage + extreme weather...my ancestors were Irish and I wonder if that has anything to do with my discomfort with extremes...fall and spring are my favourite seasons, when things are moderate. Just wondering if that enters into it!
ReplyDeleteOh - I hope it cools off for you soon!
ReplyDeleteThoughts on weather and the relation to birthdays and heritage: I simply stop functioning in the heat. It depletes me entirely. I too love the spring and fall. Weather that allows me to feel comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt is perfect. I am a winter baby and my family is all from Finland. Hmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteUse the a/c and be comforted knowing that you're doing so in an aware manner :-)
Yes!!! Use that A/C!!! I just bought one too...a couple of nights ago...we can't even use our upstairs...when we checked the temp it was 85 degrees up there!!! The air conditioners of today are much more energy efficient. I think the one we bought is even energy star rated.
ReplyDeleteSheepish...You were one of the three lovely ladies who won my Pay It Forward giveaway!
Could you send me your address, and I'll get your sunny window star in the mail next week!
thanks
I'm at valleyvixen(at)mail(dot)com
xo maureen
px...would you like me to make you a wintery star instead...to evoke the sense of cold!!!