a wee bit warm...

we have ac units in the two rooms we work in. the guys finally
convinced me a few years ago that the computers would burn up if we didn't
do something. and so we've got some ac in here. in the main part of the house,
it's still just fans. if it gets too hot, you've got a place to curl in, you
can just keep on workin'! and if it's not that bad, you just go about your day
in any place in the house.

i like it that way.
i grew up with blasting really cold central air, and i'm sure that has a lot
to do with my liking fans now. and yeah, i know my sons will probably all
have central air because of the way they've been raised!

thing is, i used to hate summer. and i think it had a lot to do with central air.
i felt like everything should be cooler. and it was just so god awful hot
when i stepped outside.

now summer's summer. it's hot. that's what summer is. and i don't know,
it's just completely different in my head.

i sat here and reminisced this morning. of when the guys were small and
we had no ac at all.

we had one of those 3'x12' pools in the back yard. and that was what we
used to cool down. it really worked great too. it was our great luxury
and we so enjoyed it~!

when the heat of the summer really rolled in, i'd get the most gigantic
stack of books out of the library. and yes, i was one of those people you
never wanted to get behind in line and you wonder do they REALLY read all
those books......yes! we really did!

we'd turn on the ceiling fan and lay under it with the books and read all
day....i'd read out loud to them for hours. we'd take a break and go swim
and cool down, we'd nap, and we'd do puzzles by the fan.

i'm serious...that was a summer day for us. many of them.
and the reading literally went on for hours. and the guys snuggled in and
got lost in the stories.

there was some sort of cycle to it.
it was like it was time to just mellow out and do nothing.
it was the natural time of the cycle to be lazy.
and it just felt right.
it was the perfect time to listen to stories and get lost in them.

there has never been a time in my life like that before or since then.

at the time i was just mothering.
doing what i felt was good for the boys.
i don't think i ever realized how precious those moments would always
be in my heart.

it was the heat of the summer, for pete's sakes. not my favorite time of year.

and yet...i look back now and see those hot days as giving me some of the
best gifts ever.

feeling smaltzy today and actually appreciating the heat.
go figure.