I haven’t had guests to my house in months. That’s probably what this post should be about, but it’s not. When my late wife’s parents wanted to stop by for an evening, I was grateful, but also concerned about the disorderliness and the heat. This is the first time I have lived with central air and I’m not very comfortable with it. I feel isolated in the house with all the windows closed, the outdoor sounds replaced by a droning from the basement. I run the heat in the winter (still missing the warmth of radiators), but I’m not missing out on too much birdsong in January.
So I fired up the ancient air conditioning unit and it didn’t work. No surprise really, I knew there was a leak in the system and it had been at least a year since I had tried it.
No bother, the evening cooled off and we were all comfortable. But it did get me thinking about why I don’t use our A/C.
- The jarring transition between air conditioning and fresh, if hot, air
- Grew up largely without A/C
- The birds: that first closed window made the house sadder
- My sons screaming in joy (or is that pain? might need to check on them) three blocks away
- Hearing what’s happening at night for security and awareness (a heightened concern of the single parent)
- The sound of a condenser running shuts down a small part of my brain
- My body performs better at room temp or above
- Concerts, soccer, yoga, burritos, sex: all the best things are done with extra heat
- I’m kinda cheap.
There’s something to be said for the little adversities. If you take on the little pains, you find out they were smaller than you thought. It’s watching your son getting choked on the mat and then smiling and fist bumping his partner. Then he’s in a competition against a much larger opponent getting smashed into the ground. Then he’s facing tragedy that many adults can’t manage. You watched and sat back and let him deal with the little adversities, now he’s stronger than you could imagine a ten-year-old could be.
Turn off the A/C and find out how strong you could be, because you ARE stronger.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason