I grew up in Wisconsin, the land of 4 seasons. During the summer, we could usually count the number of days that it hit 90 on our hands, and on those days my mom told us that if we were outside we should be getting wet – playing the sprinkler, jumping in a pool, etc. In my brain, anything over 90 was hot.
Then I went to NTM’s Missionary Training Center in Missouri, and I believe it was 99 the day I got there. I didn’t feel well because of the heat and I didn’t know what to do other than sit in the a/c or jump in the lake.
Now I am in a place much hotter than the Missionary Training Center. “Hot” and “cool” are relative terms, especially this time of the year. We’re in hot season here, and yes, it is hot. Yesterday was only the second time this year, though, that it was so hot it was hard to think. I got home, hot and sweaty and exhausted, after being gone all day. It was 4:00, and I opened the door to my house that had been “cool” at 86 degrees that morning. Sadly, the heat had creeped in through the windows and the walls, and when I got home it was 96 inside. Yes, 96 was the inside temperature and that was cooler than outside. I believe it was also cooler than the car we had just been riding in for 2 hours as well. No, I don’t have a/c. What did I do? I took a shower (and I don’t mind that I don’t have a water heater this time of year – the “cold” water often comes out as warm as bath water anyway) and, after running the errand I had to run, sat under the fan with some Koolaid.
When I go to bed now, it’s “cool” if it’s anything under 90. If it’s above 93 or so you know that it’s going to be a rough night. Oh yeah, and that’s in the house, not outside. How do I sleep? Well, lately I’ve been soaking a sheet in water and laying on that, with the fan on “blast off” speed over me. Some nights it makes it quite pleasant. Some nights it’s still hard to sleep.
I must admit that I’m looking forward to being on a chilly airplane in 19 days, heading back to the chilliness of Wisconsin in April. I’m sure that I’ll freeze when I get there since it will have been more than a month since I’ve seen anything under 80, but it sure sounds good at the moment. And when I get back here this summer we’ll be out of hot season and life will be much more bearable.
How hot is it right now? 94 in my house. No wonder my nap didn’t work very well. Off for some more Koolaid before I go out in the heat and continue on with life. 🙂