I did nothing but go from air conditioned space to air conditioned space, and I was exhausted.
I stopped at the car wash, got out to use the vacuum, and managed to finish the driver's floor mat before I succumbed to the heat.
I spent 15 minutes at the nursery, pricing plants and soil for the Grandma's Garden grant. I took one turn around the outdoor space; I felt as desiccated as the seedlings I passed. The plants agreed with me - it was just too hot to be out in the sun.
Now, we're used to heat. We're used to prolonged periods of heat. We are used to triple digit temperatures. We're just not used to all of that without a drop of rain. It's almost August and we've had one decent storm.
Last night the ticker below the soccer game (I'll get there eventually, I promise) warned us about the Severe TStorm moving at 15mph right in our direction. We heard the clouds before they began darkening our world. It was like being under the hovering destructo machine in Independence Day.
I put the huge MagLite from our days in Marin (where power outages were not infrequent) on the coffee table and lit all the candles in all the candleholders in all the windows, and, with TBG taking care of the worrying part, We both sat back and watched two shows at once.
The soccer was on the tv and the lightning was out the windows, giant horizontal flashes behind the cloud announcing the oncoming thunder with authority. Neither TBG nor I thought it would be prudent to step outside and take a photograph.
I started today by asking a Pilates friend if she got any rain beneath the clouds last night. With the same rueful grin that was on my face, we shook our heads in wonder and despair, similar goose eggs created by our fingers.
The power stayed on. The electrical storm passed. I woke up to NPR promoting a conversation about Climate Psychology, the burgeoning field of responding to the despondency produced by our changing physical world.
I did nothing but go from air conditioned space to air conditioned space, and I was exhausted.... and this is why we got here. Please don't tell me that the planet isn't changing. I have grandchildren to consider.
I think everyone knows it's changing around the world. The debate is always over why-- natural changes, as this planet has seen a lot before humans began recording, or is it too many people and too much industry. In the midst of this extreme heat, our air conditioner went out lol. Fortunately we had a company we had used for checks on it in the past (old customers) and maybe added to it that we are old. We got the new unit two days after our call for an assessment. Those companies are quite busy these days. Our unit was 13 years old which is old too according to the technicians where average age is 10, right after the warranties expire. Yeah, I am laughing. Supposedly this one will save on our electric bill. We shall see... Oh, and we missed rain again with this recent lightning storm but we had 3/4" from the last one. Fingers crossed that future storms will drop more.
ReplyDeleteIt helps me to think I can make a difference. Otherwise, the overwhelming disastrophe we are facing would send me to a Climate Psychologist right now :-)
ReplyDeleteA/C's, like smoke alarms, require tending at the most inconvenient times, don't they? I use the "I'm Old" thing all the time, with a big self-deprecating smile on my face and just a touch of embarrassment in my heart.
Just got a drizzle and a spurt.... the ground is laughing at me. My tree leaves are shrunken. Ah.... summer in Tucson.
a/b