recently, it has definitely not felt like june in south carolina. maybe the end of july, but not the beginning of june. as i drove home from work yesterday at 5:30, it was actually 103 degrees out. there was no "ease your way into summer" - it was just BAM! hello summer.
but we like summer. i told jed yesterday that i'm addicted to the season changes. i, of course, have my favorite depending on where i'm at (summer in FL, fall in the city, winter in the north, and spring everywhere), but all in all every season shatters the fatigue from the previous season. so exciting!
not so excitedly though, have i been about waking up in the night and feeling really hot or having to take two showers a day to feel good. you would think that a girl from africa wouldn't really flinch until the 120's hit, but that's all going to change.
today i read a
priceless blog posting of a friend who is enduring her first summer in nyc. after reading her dehydrated story full of sweltering expression (and after laughing just a bit), i have, with her help, come to the conclusion that it's all perspective. if you expect not to be hot but to be cool and comfortable, then it's going to feel horrible when you're not cool and comfortable!
like exercising. when i used to work out, i expected to somehow enjoy it or not feel like throwing bricks. that is, until a wise woman told me that it's all about learning how to be uncomfortable. you have to learn to be okay with sucking air until your sinuses hurt and coaxing each muscle into going one more lap. if you're not okay with that, then don't exercise.
likewise, if i'm not going to be okay with sweating like a pig, then i might just not enjoy the life until it's sweater weather again. personally, i'm not willing to give that up, so the only other option was to like - no,
embrace - sweating. as it gets hotter, i will thank God that i'm not an orphan in siberia. when the first sweat of the day breaks, i will thank God that i had a few moments of clean irish spring smell up until that point. and when the first good hair day turns into a complete grave yard, i will thank God that i even have hair to look bad.
so for now, i say "cheers to summer!"
