Summertime

Summertime. In Texas. God has a special setting, called "flambe'", just for this state. And He turned it up early this year.

Having never experienced a Texan summer before, (and yes, I know that I ain't seen nuthin' yet) we are doing pretty well.

Most of our days are spent with all the curtains drawn, and if you cared to venture out into the furnace and make your way over to our house, you'd find us in minimal clothing, draped over the couch directly under the air conditioning vent -- we have it down to a science, four people can arrange themselves in various odd positions so that no one actually makes contact with anyone else.

It helps that K is still pretty much pocket-sized.

The air conditioner can not be set below 80 degrees or it will freeze up the unit. Whoever built the house put the thing so that it's on the south and east side of the house -- which means it has to work harder to overcome the higher temperatures. Despite the decidedly wimpy air flow, at least it's moving air. And that helps tremendously.

Blessedly, our house in Maryland had a crappy air system too so at least we're used to it. We lived on pedestal fans, donated to us by very dear and generous friends that were concerned about our babies. We had a concrete slab foundation, and no insulation upstairs, so the upstairs was at least 15 degrees hotter than the downstairs. Trying to sleep when it's 92 degrees (or warmer) is just not enjoyable, least of all when you're a kid. When a kid is miserable, everyone is miserable.

What is depressing is the realization that while our actual temps have been between 98 and 101 for the last week, with a much higher heat index, it is going to be even hotter in about a month. I'd cry, but I'd lose valuable moisture.

We've had some rip-roarin' thunderstorms during the evenings though, of an awesomeness that frankly can't be matched by anything in the mid-Atlantic. We have already had more hailstorms in two months than I can recall ever going through in the entirety of my life. I pity those without garages or carports, the damages to cars is definitely not pretty. I am one of those people that has a healthy respect for the weather, but who also really would love to go out and watch the lightning. (Even if our house itself was struck a couple of months ago.) I draw the line at severe weather, though, and would prefer to be in a closet with a blanket, huddled over the emergency radio.

Which reminds me of another oddity: we live in Tornado Alley proper, but there are not very many basements in Texan homes. Fabulous. I guess it doesn't really matter so much here, because they don't get the "wimpy" EF1 variety very often. If they get a tornado, it's a huge monster that takes out an entire town, so you're probably toast anyway. How comforting.

I grew up in South Florida during my formative years, and I'll take a hurricane over a tornado any day. At least you have advanced notice and can "batten down the hatches" and get the heck out of dodge. My husband, on the other hand, was born and raised in Kansas -- and he's more likely to be outside whooping and hollering at the "cool" sickly green tinge the sky takes on, and avidly scanning for funnel clouds.

He's a freak, but I love him.