stop moving the fan!

I. am. hot. No... it is not a self-proclamation. I am too warm. Overheated. HOT.

As I lay in bed last night with 2 fans blowing on me, I was brought back to my days as a child living on Brookside Terrace West with my sister and two brothers. We had a nice 5 bedroom, two story colonial.... with no air conditioning.... and ONE box fan.

My sister and I talk about this all the time.... we would try to fall asleep upstairs in the sweltering heat, with cold washcloths on our foreheads, trying to share a box fan among the four of us. It had to be 90 degrees upstairs.... we would just lay there.... sweating.

Here's how it usually worked. My mom would say "leave the fan in the hallway so you'll get a cross-breeze." CROSS BREEZE? Sure mom. Never happened. So we would fight over who got the air blowing towards their bedroom. It always ended up with Ken winning... cause he stayed up the latest.... and could move the fan without any one of us knowing. (Yeah Ken... it's TRUE.)

So now I wonder. Did suffering through the summer with no central air make me a stronger, more understanding and empathetic person? Maybe. Are our children today spoiled with too many luxuries like central air conditioning? Probably. However, what is wrong with a good nights sleep?

If you don't already know, our central air decided it was time to stop working... so we've spent the last month trying everything possible (on a little budget) to get it to work again with negative results. So my house is hot and sticky, filled with pollen and very uncomfortable. I haven't really cleaned upstairs since it's been so warm - I cannot stand sweating. We've eaten out a lot, as turning my gas stove on in this heat makes it unbearable in my kitchen. I sneeze about 30 times every morning, as I have horrible allergies to grass and trees. These lovely fans we have in our windows to try and draw cooler air in during the night is also carrying in lots of allergens. So... I've used about 6 boxes of Kleenex already.

Yep... when you can't sleep, these are all the things that float through your head.

I know we had it rougher when we were children. No one had air conditioning. (But, we DID have a pool!) No one complained. It was a part of life.... something we just had to deal with. However as I think more and more about all the luxuries my children have today, I think maybe it's good for them to sweat a little. Maybe it's OK for them to be tired in the morning because they were hot and restless during the night. It'll make them more appreciative, right? It better, cause I don't know how much more of this I can take.....

As much as I would rather be a stay-at-home mommy... and as much as I love the warm weather.... I am thankful I'm headed back to work today.... with A/C.

Stay cool... and save a washcloth for me. I'm gonna need it for a few more nights.....