In our family...

In our family....we do second chances...we do grace...we do real...we do mistakes...we do I'm sorry (and I forgive you)...we do loud really well...we do hugs...we do family...we do love.















Monday, July 6, 2009

Losing my Jealousy of You

I must confess that during much of the year…especially in the winter,(which by the way, is too damn long) I am quite jealous of where many of you live. But lately, I read your posts about how hot it is where you live, with temperatures in the 90’s and even over 100, every single day, and it is making me lose my jealousy. It didn't even make 80 here over this past weekend but it was warm enough.

While it does have the potential to get good and hot here in Minnesota, it is not the norm and if it is hot, very seldom does it last for long. I do like it warm and even like it hot, when I don’ have to work outside and can be sitting in a lake or lounging on the shore of one. Having done farm work in the summer heat, I can't imagine doing it in the heat that you experience on a daily basis.

I like to be outside doing things(you already know this if you read my last post) and could not imagine doing all those things we like to do in such extreme heat. Is it something you just get used to? To live in the high heat day after day would get very old for me…especially now that I am experiencing these fun hormonal changes taking place. Seriously, how do you people handle it? How do you menopausal women handle it?

Like I said, it does have the potential to get hot here. We have had some really hot summers and it seems to me, that I was usually pregnant and/or had a little baby to try to keep cool. I remember being very pregnant and having little ones to take care of and having no air conditioning in our house. It would get pretty hot inside the house because I was still using the stove and the oven since it was during this time in my life in which I made everything from scratch. And I used cloth diapers and hung out all the laundry on the clothes line. Oh lord, how the heck did I do it?

So anyways, I just remember how flippin hot it would get in my house and there were days that I just had too much work to do or couldn’t haul that many kids to the lake or didn’t have enough energy to do so. Just about every day, I would fill up their little pool first thing in the morning and when it got to the point I couldn't take it anymore, I would get right in there with them. Or I would run through the sprinkler with them...actually I think it was more that I stood there and let the cold water shower me… Anything to cool off. Oh how I must have looked to those that passed by. I am sure we(I)was quite the sight.

I remember being pregnant with my youngest child and I was a week over due. It was the beginning of June and we were actually having a hot summer(hotter then this year anyways) and my oldest daughter comes into the house and says “The cows are out.” Dear Lord help me. My husband was laid up and unable to help us get them in. So, here I am, big as a house, chasing cows through the fields, while trying to carry my 2 year old daughter, along with my other little ones, in 90 some degree’s. With the promise of ice cream, pop cycles and running through the sprinklers, my children kept running after those damn cows. With the hope that just maybe this would start my labor, I was intent on getting these cows inside their fence without calling for help.

We did get them in eventually(without having to call for help), but by the time we were done, we were wringing wet with sweat. And to think that now day’s, I exercise as hard as I can, every single day, to work up a sweat like that. Go figure. Yes, I know I must be crazy. And no, it didn’t bring on labor. In fact, I went another week before I gave birth to the 10 lb bundle of joy. It's hard to believe that bundle of joy, is now 20 year old. Time sure flys when you're having fun.


So anyways, when we were finished getting the cows back in the pasture and sure that they weren't going to get out again, I dished them up an ice cream cone and there we sat in the middle of the yard, under a tree, eating ice cream cones…ice cream melting all over them. I hooked up the sprinkler and the little ones just stood under the sprinkler until they couldn’t stand it anymore. I was so tired I could hardly move, so I had them fill up their sand buckets with water from the sprinkler and gave them permission to pour it over me. Talk about pure bliss.


Now day’s, it’s not so difficult. Times have changed. I'm not trying to do farm work outside (no more chasing cows)...thank God. While I do make a lot of things from scratch, I am no longer making everything from scratch like I used to...thank God for that too. I'm no longer getting pregnant. Can we all shout "Amen" to that? We just turn on the central air conditioning when it gets too sticky and hot, which isn‘t that often and mostly at night.

Most of the time, we just have the windows open and run a few fans. We spend so little time inside the house when we are at home, that we just don’t turn it on. But, it sure is nice to have that option. Thankfully we have lots of lakes around us, so when ever we get the chance, we can go jump in one of them, if it’s too hot to do much else. And if I'm having one of my hormonal hot flashes, no amount of air conditioning does the trick anyways, so I just stick my head in the freezer, where I keep my dark chocolates. Does the trick every time.

So tell me…I really want to know…How do you cool off? How do you beat the heat?

21 comments:

Sandi said...

I live in So Cal, where it never gets TOO hot. I find myself trying to warm up way more than I am trying to cool off. I freeze at the mall, I freeze at every restaurant. Central Air is abused as far as I am concerned.

I couldn't live where winter happens, but I sure miss those warm houses and malls and fireplaces at the restaurants. Now, I am looking for heat.

You know, I am never happy.

Busy Bee Suz said...

This is so cute...I love reading about all the antics you have gone through...so funny and challenging.
We hit the pool or stay in the a/c. I sweat a few buckets retrieving the mail or taking out the garbage these days. :)

Anonymous said...

Here in Western Oklahoma my thermometer says it is 92 today. That is actually cooler than it has been. It was so neat to hear about your adventure with the kids. Brought back lots of memories. I chased cows with my husband on the day I actually went into labor with my first child. It was in November though. A little cooler.

Jan said...

Beloved and I were just talking about that today. Yes, you DO adjust to the extreme heat, although I can say we'd never live in Texas again without a swimming pool. It tickles us when, like today when it's 82 degrees, to hear the native Ohioans complain about how hot they are.

And I'm right there with you on the "no more pregnancies" thing. AMEN!!!!

LPC said...

There is something so poetic about your stories. I swear you are a real American in a way that I am not, despite the ancestry etc. Too much time on the coast probably. I could just see you running after cows. I could imagine you writing a lovely short story or memoir.

Riahli said...

I just melt into a puddle. ;) I live in NW Washington (born and raised and now raising my own) so it rarely gets above 90 in the summer (although we seem to be having a hot/dry one this year if you ask me!), but anything above 70 is getting a tad too warm for me. Plus I seem to manage to be at the Very Pregnant stage in the summer time, have been for all three, and that is just plain misery! Talk about hot on top of hot. Thankfully we have lots of lakes, rivers, and the coast right by us, which is really nice if we can make it there. Or a cold shower, and frozen fruit bars, yummy.

I love hearing about your life with your kids when they were little, you were (are) one busy lady!

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Nancy said...

We live at 6500 ft, so it is usually cooler than down in the valley. But when the hot flashes are too much to bear, I use a spray bottle, with it on "mist".
Having just moved from Minnesota, I don't miss the humidity in the summer! But you're right, it really doesn't get that hot.

SciFi Dad said...

We have no heat to speak of. The high today was in the 60s.

Brittany said...

I think we live at the pool. When were not at work and pre-school me and Aidyn man live in that pool. It's the only way to cool down :)!!!

Fragrant Liar said...

OMG, it is in the 100s every day here. It's hotter than usual, but even high 90s is too hot for me these days. Being menopausal, I also have heat intolerance, so if it's too hot for me, I have to stay indoors. I used to love the summers, as I think I mentioned on last post, but my body's thermometer is broken and now I need more temperate climes. Fall and spring rock.

Beth said...

I live in South Georgia and it is HOT! We don't know what snow is. You do sort of get used to the heat but living without AC is not only difficult but dangerous. The high humidity makes it hot even in the early morning hours (which is when I choose to run as it is the coolest part of the day).

You learn to plan your day around the heat. It is best to run errands early in the morning or in the evening. Also, I just plan to take 2 showers a day. It really gets that hot.

This week, we are getting a breather. After weeks of temperatures in the 100s (and the heat index hovering aroung 110), we are getting rain and highs in the mid to low 90s. We are happy!

I Am Woody said...

Pool. Lake. Popsicles.

You adjust. I freeze inside in the A/C!

Bogey said...

Lori, just picturing you running around chasing cows, never mind being pregnant, is leaving me in stitches. Although we do get some temperatures in the 30's (that would be around 90 plus degrees fahrenheit) it is few and far between. However, the humidity does get rather extreme at times. I usually feel it when I ride my bike a lot. When I am going up a long hill and gasping for air then I know it's too hot. So far this summer, it has been rather bearable. I'm quite comfortable with a ceiling fan over the bed and maybe a circulating fan in the room. Other than that, 2 a day showers are pretty common.

Nice to see you back writing a little more. You sound happy.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I don't think I ever beat it, I just live with it. I get used to sweating several times a day. Try to get outside to work in it the morning or evening. And if I"m at the lake, I just keep jumping in. Amazes me how my temperament evens out.

Debbie said...

You probably have the same type of weather we do here in Maine for the most part? Your winters may be a bit more severe in Minnesota though I am guessing? It has been raining here for 2 to 3 weeks and the heat has not kicked in yet. It is effecting businesses and gardens and tourism and frankly, our attitudes! It does eventually get very hot here in the summmer...over 100 sometimes. We run our air conditioner with fans starting early in the morning. We keep all the shades closed. By late day, we can shut it off, as the house is sufficiently cooler. I can't take the heat...menopausal...it feels like I am going to die! We used to have a pool and that helped but we got rid of it when the kids grew up. I miss it. There are many lakes near by but we really don't frequent them any more. Sometimes, after working outside in the heat, we take a cold shower! Popsicles help and really cold ice tea!

Sharpiegirl said...

If you can hang by the pool or lake you do, if you can't you go to the movies, stay in the house or go to the mall. Really exciting stuff.
Forget having a decent hair day. Just pull it back and forget about it because everyone else looks just as bad as you do.
I'm becoming a huge fan of linen pants and tees. It's become my summer uniform.

bernthis said...

I'm going to be in NYC which is synonymous with "humidity" and I'm dying. In Los Angeles, summers are great. Cool at night, hot in the day. the weather here has been AMAZING!

Anonymous said...

I live in Nevada. Halfway between Vegas and Death Valley. Need I say more? No, but I will. IT IS HOT! It is hot from June through September. So hot you wanna cry. But the rest of the year? Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I beat the heat by hiding inside and setting the thermostat at 75 where it ought to be.

I just want to know if the cows liked the ice cream. (had to read that line twice because it made me laugh!)

MGM said...

I'd love to live in Minnesota...up by the boundary waters, specifically. It would be much cooler than here and I'd probably get to see some moose!

When it gets too hot here, with temps around 100 degrees and humidity around 75% (pushing the heat index to 110 or some gawd awful thing), we just stay inside with the A/C crankin'. We play board games, paint pictures, and watch movies. If it cools down to at least 90 degrees we go outside and play in the water.

We haven't hit 100 yet this summer, but the heat index has. All in all, it could be worse!

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