following the seasons

The Pacific Northwest is having a bit of a hot spell. A very hot spell. After a few days of high temps, my home gets a wee bit toasty.

Whenever these kinds of temps roll around, I have the rare moment where I really wish I had air conditioning. Truthfully, the only reason I haven't bought a unit is because I figure that in the middle of a heat wave is no time to run out and buy a unit and once it's over, I start to question if I really need one. I mean, there are really only a few weeks in the year where it seems necessary.

Since it's been so hot, I've been eating lots of watermelon and salads and hummus and stone fruits, drinking lots of liquids, getting up very early so that I can still take the pup for a short walk (he is not a hot weather dog at all) and do yoga, using my lunch hour to take a nap, and spending lots of time just sitting outdoors while talking to friends or reading in front of the fans. I move little and slowly.

It occurred to me the other day that not having a/c might actually be a good thing. I think that really hot weather sends a signal to our bodies to slow down and replenish for a bit during the energetic season of summer. However, we spend so much of our lives indoors - away from the actual weather - that it's really easy to miss this.

Of course, this could just be my overheated brain's way of coping with the heat but for now, I'm going with it.

Comments

[Kara]

that's a really lovely way of looking at it. But it got SO hot here this time (whine....), that even the nights were sweltering until yesterday. Over 100 outside meant my 2nd floor bedroom was well over 110. The pets looked so pathetic - even tho my doggie panting looks like she is smiling.
Glad to hear you fared well.
It was kind of funny to see the city go into panic mode, huh? Like the storms we had over the winter in a way. Everyone was hunkered down and bewildered.

[Julie M.]

You are so on to something! I eat much lighter in the summer but I notice when it gets really hot, the a.c. comes on and I eat more. And then feel so 'heavy'. I think I need to bear the warmth and eat less because I know I (more than?) make up for it in the winter... :)

[elizabeth @ the blue lotus]

@kara: never fear, there was whining done over here, hence the reason I am not entirely sure my "epiphany" wasn't just my mind's way of coping with the situation. ;) My 2nd floor bedroom was about that too! It felt like the temp rose 15 deg or so just walking upstairs. Amazing .. I hope your family (including 4-legged) is staying cool! (If you can, head to the coast - it seems to almost always be much cooler there. :)

@julie: well .. a/c may be more of a necessity there. I don't know if I could bear a summer there w/out it. :) But maybe you could turn it lower if you're trying to adjust your body to the warmth?