Hot

I took the canine princesses on a walk this morning at 9:00, figuring it was still early enough not to be killer hot. I was wrong. It was seriously hot. I'd taken along a plastic bag to pick up garbage along the side of this beautiful, little-traveled country lane, and by the time I'd bent over to retrieve trash once or twice, I realized I was getting trembly and light-headed. (This was midway through the 1.5 mile journey.) The poor canine princesses were seriously hot in their double-layer fur coats. I have a neat canvas contraption, a folding bowl, that I bring for them. I can unfold it, fill it with water, and give them a drink. That, and taking plenty of rest breaks, gets us through.

The heat this morning made me think of my dear father, who worked outside most of his life. Like me, he was "hot-blooded," meaning he tended toward the warm end of the spectrum no matter what the weather or circumstances. He perspired a lot (as I do). He really felt the heat, especially when he walked in it for miles a day as a meter reader for what is now Dominion Power. But he never complained about it. When I complained about it, he'd say,

"Come on now, kid, it's a beautiful day. It's summer. It's SUPPOSED to be hot."

Leaving aside the question of how much global warming is affecting our summer weather (for the moment), I have to say I think my father had something there. It IS supposed to be hot here at this time of year. It was part of Daddy's spiritual practice, though he wouldn't have called it that, to look positively on the weather. It was a matter of gratitude. God gave us the weather -- appreciate it!

We fretted about moving from Wyoming because we loved the weather there. It literally never once in five years got anywhere near as hot there as it was here today. And I know there are two, maybe two-and-a-half more months of this hot-humid thing ahead. Can I retrain myself to think positively about heat and humidity?

One thing I have noticed here: We are out in the country, so there are breezes I never felt when we lived in Alexandria. There are also lots of beautiful scents on the breeze, scents of wildflowers and grasses and trees. Now that I get up earlier in the day, I'm also beginning to understand that the summer is more tolerable if you get your serious outside time in way before 9:00 a.m. (I was running late today.)

Okay, Lord. In my ongoing effort to be a good steward of all you give me, I am going to cultivate gratitude for the weather -- including "hazy, hot, and humid." As the sweat rolls down my face, I will try to remember to say "thank you."

And I do sincerely thank you, Lord, that historic Buck Mountain Episcopal Church is air conditioned!