Hot weather used to
never bother me ever but it most certainly is now and with a furor. Yes, I’m
blessed with having A/C and several box fans to move the air around but the air
inside seems to hang like a huge blanket that someone has decided to put up for
enclosure. It’s stifling.
Opening the door to
go outside is not a favorite task at this point for once the hot humid air hits
me, it makes me gasp for breath and yet I have to go outside to water what
flowers and herbs that are left out there. Yesterday, early in the morning, I
did just that and to tell you how horribly hot it is here, when I watered them,
steam came off of each potted flower or herb. Now that’s just not a good sign
ever.
And I had to fill up
the birdbaths for not only birds but squirrels, deer and other animals for they
depend upon water just as we humans do. By late afternoon, all of the water I
had put out was gone –it was either drunk by them or evaporated. And so there I
was again with the garden hose filling up the birdbaths as quickly as I could
so that I could run back inside.
If you are experiencing
unusual high temperatures or if it’s the norm for you, you know how listless it
makes you feel—you feel like doing absolutely nothing but exist. If I were near
a water source, I’d be there and two rivers are quite close to me but it wasn’t
worth the effort to get into a steaming hot car and be out in the heat. It was worth
it when I was a lot younger for I loved hot weather, loved swimming in a pool or
sitting out in the sun. Eight years ago was a huge turning point for me for one
hot summer morning, I decided to go outside and trim back shrubbery with
electric hedge trimmers—not realizing how blasted hot it already was or how
high the humidity was until sweat started running into my eyes and that sweat
stung.
Grabbing the hedge
trimmers, I rushed inside to a cool house but cool I could not get. Felt dizzy.
Felt faint. And I couldn’t get cool no matter what I did and that was drinking
cold water, sitting in cold water and using rubbing alcohol on my arms and legs—the
latter helped briefly—and it took three days to feel cool again. Googled my
symptoms and yes, I’d had a mini heatstroke but I didn’t need Google to tell me
that. I knew it. It just confirmed it.
And so after that
incident, whenever the weather reaches scorching temperatures, I cannot take
it. It means being stuck inside which can be good or bad depending upon how you
look at it. There are so many events going on right now but sadly most are all
outside and there is no way I’m going to any of them.
Glad groceries had
been bought last week, glad that food can be ordered and delivered and ever so
glad for my A/C and those box fans. My pets are glad as well for my dog sits in
front of the fan whereas my cat heads for the bathtub—she’s not dumb in knowing
that it’s cooler in there. Would my dog do it? No. He thinks that it is bath
time and he runs down the hall as if he has wings on his feet.
Today is it supposed
to reach 98 degrees with high humidity and today will be another day spent
inside with the exception of putting water outside for plants, herbs, flowers
and birds, etc. Maybe you don’t agree with me or maybe you do but at least when
it’s cold, you can get warm with layers and layers of clothing but when it’s scorching
hot, there are very little options. And very little gets done.
And in reality, who
would feel like doing much anyway with it being so hot? I’m thankful that my
job as a teacher kept me inside most of the time for I could have had a job
that required working outside day in and day out. And if you have a job such as
that, I hope you do everything you can to stay cool and hydrated. Hot weather
gets to me more than it should but there’s nothing to do but deal with it in
any way possible.
Take care of you,
watch for warning signs health-wise and stay cool. As for me, I’ll just
vegetate inside doing as little as possible until the weather changes in
several days hopefully. At least there is social media right? And for that we
should be grateful as well as being able to watch television and/or movies to
pass the time. Meanwhile, hot weather gets to me.
Sherry Hill
Copyright © 2016
Sherry Hill
All Rights Reserved
*Photo from Microsoft Word
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