Acclimating

Something unthinkable is happening: I am getting used to how hot it gets in the summers here. It gets really hot. I know we are lucky because there's not a lot of humidity in Spokane, but that has not made much difference to my level of contentedness in years past. I hate being hot, hate feeling like I have to hide in the basement, and hate when I don't feel capable of doing anything but lying still and breathing, because all other options would be sweaty and uncomfortable. And even though lying still and breathing are very appropriate for these evil summertimes, the heat makes sleeping very difficult. There have been lots of nights in years past when before bed I stuck my head under the bathtub spout (is that a real term?) so that I could go to sleep with wet hair and feel less stifled. I also used to chase Emmy around the yard with the hose (set to 'mist'; she is a very dainty lady, after all, and not at all interested in being hit with big scary drops of water) so that she could also go to bed with pleasantly wet hair.

But, I realized today that it was 84 degrees in my living room, and I was just sitting here, reading, computing, tidying, just like a regular human being. I made dinner on the stove, as if I weren't living in an oven. I seriously considered it when my friend asked me if I would go running with her tomorrow, IN THE AFTERNOON (a.k.a., when it will be approximately 96 degrees outside). But I am not completely insane. I still told her no.