It’s strange to realize that we’ve already entered July.
I mean, I’m still lagging behind thanks to heat indexes climbing to triple digits daily.
It’s one thing to have oppressive heat and a whole other to feel like you’re melting the minute you open your door and that high humidity threatens to smother you before you can take a full breath.
Plus, it’s a gamble for a slight breeze because there seems to be a delicate line between clearing the air and being somewhat easier to bear and just stirring the ambient sauna that is out in the area.
I’ve got a few friends that are transplants to coastal Texas and those that have only visited for a few days – and the main thing they all agree on is how bad the heat is.
And I’m talking folks that are further up the state or from other southern states like Georgia or Florida.
The friend from Georgia has mentioned multiple times that they didn’t believe me about how hot it got on the coast until she moved to Corpus Christi with her husband.
Now she gets it and warns as many of her family members as she can in advance of their visits, too!
Personally, I just remind her about the importance of staying hydrated and protected from sunlight as much as possible.n
And, for the most part, people take my advice to heart and make a bit more effort to try not to end up as a walking, talking and desiccated piece of human beef jerky.
Still, it’s also a little hilarious watching those visiting soccer teams for the annual World Cup competition try to deal with the heat, too.
But, I totally get it – we’re located a lot closer to the equator than many of those visiting teams and we have the infrastructure to combat most of it.
I mean, I’ve been in Texas almost my whole life and survived many a sweltering summer – including the historical and landmarked 2011 drought.
That summer was one of the most terrifying ones I’ve ever spent when it seems people’s shoes melt when they come into contact with asphalt and those deep cracks in the ground that riddled the landscape as every plant dried up.
The 2011 drought served as a wake-up call for many, but it doesn’t seem to have had any lasting effect on the general public as much as I had hoped it would.
Here at the Reddell household, we’re always cautious when it comes to watching our water and power consumption, though I’m guilty of that childhood cardinal sin of changing the thermostat without permission.
I mean, I’m always grateful for air conditioner’s status as a modern miracle and advocate for its installation everywhere.
But, anything over 75 degrees feels disgusting and leaves me sweating indoors – something I hate more than anything!
Still, mom and I are at odds on the temperature because she feels that my preference for 74 degrees with “too cold” and that two degrees don’t make much of a difference in her book.
Well, at least in how she feels about anything, but keeping our air conditioning units from working too hard – to which I always remind her that hotter temperatures indoors also affect our newspaper equipment and coworker morale.
I don’t know how much longer I can get away with using those excuses, but, I’ve already taken other steps to combat her overzealous thermostat control!
