The windows stay open and fans oscillate on high while the city languishes. This is how I know it’s summer.
I used to dread summer with a hot hatred matched only by the heat coming off the pavement. It’s not unusual for the summers to reach the high 90s here, and come August, triple digits are expected. We aren’t the desert, but we’re close.
When we first got married, my husband had a simple rule: the air conditioner shall always run during the summer. He wanted the house a frigid 72 at all times. A cool house symbolized our independence. That we could, if we wanted to, open up all the doors and windows and cool down the whole street. No more parents complaining about the electricity bill. No more sweating while cleaning the house. No more sweating, period.
I was young, chubby, out of shape, and completely on board. For the first 10 years of our marriage we were the Cyrenaics of climate control.
Then two years ago I started watching what I ate. Really watching. I’ve always been knowledgeable when it came to nutrition; I just started to put it into practice. Last summer, the heat didn’t bother me as much.
This past February, I got back on the wagon after gaining back some of the weight. I’ve lost the amount I gained back (around 50% of my original loss) plus a smidgen more. A tiny bit more. Like, {} this much. Still, it’s something! I’ve been eating very well and have become mindful of what feels good for my body. With my vitamin D deficiency and my inability to tolerate supplements, I must be vigilant. Diet, exercise, and twenty minutes a day in the sun has become crucial to my health and vitality. I am the tannest I have been since my tennis days in high school…and trying not to worry about the wrinkles.
What I am not worried about is the heat. Since eating cleanly, exercising, and spending time in the sun, it simply does not bother me. I never turn on the air and am rarely uncomfortable, even when I am cleaning the house. One day I was cleaning and did feel a little stuffy. I looked at the thermostat and was surprised to see it was 84 inside. (?!) I opened up some windows, turned on a couple of fans, and went back to mopping the floors. It didn’t take long for me to cool down again.
When I started taking pictures for this series, the series that should have ended six months ago but hasn’t, the goal was to force myself into the present, to acknowledge what I already have and celebrate the beauty in the mundane. I walked into the kitchen this week after cleaning the bedrooms and stood before an open window that would have been slammed shut a two years ago. I would have had the air running. I would have been complaining about the heat. I would have been slowly killing myself with food.
This picture is more than just an open window and a cheap fan from Target.
I wonder if this would work for me. I don’t know. I really hate the heat. *whimper* It makes me sad and grouchy. It’s a condition I’ve long suffered from (and I’ll tell you now, years worth of pasty white layers is most unbecoming). Of course, I’ve also long loved sugar … and starchy goodness. Hmm… interesting …
Once again, we Amys have something in common :) I’m a heat hater (and carb lover), too. I swell up and get migraines when overheated, but noticed that during the brief period in my life where I exercised a lot and spent more time outside, I tolerated heat much better. Still kept that thermostat set on subarctic, though!
Jules, I’m wondering if you tried Vitamin D in liquid form? That’s what I use, the NOW brand. I racheted my D count up from 9 to 16 (!) but haven’t had it checked for awhile.
9 to 16! You’re as low as me! And you don’t have hip pain? I have had some luck tolerating a raw/whole foods vitamin D supplement by Garden of Life, but I haven’t had my blood work done to see if it’s working. I know this sounds stupid, but I swear it can’t be working since I feel nothing when I take the supplement. (Versus the misery I felt when taking the high doses of vitamin D earlier in the year.)
p.s. NO ONE is a greater carb lover than me. NO ONE. And I have to say, I’ve had one or two migraines since February–and really I can attribute it to stress or lack of sleep. A far cry from the handful I would get during a single month previously.
I do have hip troubles, along with widespread joint and muscle pain. Trying (as always) to improve my diet and exercise and to drink more water. Hoping someday to have some energy and be pain-free! And in between to have as much fun as possible and do a little good in the world :)
congratulations!
when we moved, we moved away from the city. and also air conditioning. truly it was the best move possible. i love windows open, fans on.
i have been enjoying your blog. you have really wonderful things to say. and in such a nice way.
have a fun weekend.
Thanks, Meghan! You have a fun weekend, too.
I feel like a grown up when I turn on the AC, too.
I also feel like a grown up when I get the bill.
Then I feel like my mother when I go turn it off.
Comment of the day. +200 points
Love, love, love this post. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing.
As a Floridian, I can’t really fathom not turning the air on. BUT! One summer, while studying in Florence, Italy, we slept and spent our days with windows open and fans on. And you know what? It was lovely. Even when we were sweating.
(And you know what I think? The “unstyled life” always means more than we give it credit for. I’ve loved this series.)
I am so happy to know that I am not the only adult who rebelled against their parents in this way! I’ve tried to be better about it in the last couple of years, but I still leave the back door open sometimes when the air is on. And I never look at the prices in the grocery store. This drives the husband nuts!
Congrats on keeping the weight off. You are such an inspiration. :)
Good for you! What a difference a healthy diet can make! Have you noticed an elevation in mood as well?
Oh yes, definitely. I’m angry, lethargic, and uninspired. But when I am not eating healthy, I am eating poorly. VERY poorly–not your average pizza on Fridays. No real meals, just odd grazing. There’s a reason I have a vitamin deficiency!
I love this series. It makes me glad.
With diet Coke clasped in chubby fingers, I salute you.
Diet Coke is like an old lover you can’t get forget. Every time I think he’s gone, I bump into him at a restaurant and the cycle starts all over again. Damn him.
Awesome – thanks so much for sharing! So many people think there must be some deep dark secret to living a happy, healthy life. But like you’ve so eloquently written, it’s just really simple stuff. And the bonus is that it’s good for the planet, too!
Thank you, Danielle.
just discovered your blog – you are a wonderful writer and the stories about your family are fantastic. I absolutely love your writing style. thank you for sharing! I am currently studying for the bar exam – and your blog has seriously lightened my day!
Jules.. long time!! I loved this… It is currently a ‘hades-like’ 100+ outside on the east coast and just the thought of no air makes my little nose consider sweating. I’m so proud of you! You will be my inspiration for the rest of the summer. I started a boot camp, but because it has a very particular and rigid schedule, it has been difficult fitting it into my work schedule…but I will try harder!!! And no more french fries. :*( Or home made ice cream.. I bought the Cuisinart 2Qt ice cream maker; no rock-salt, no ice. It’s heaven, really.
Well, maybe just one half cup a day. :)
This is so interesting! ‘m usually pretty comfortable in the heat although it has nothing to do with a healthy diet (although I do try to eat well, it doesn’t always happen). I grew up in the South without air conditioner so I tend to enjoy open windows and a fan any day over AC. But I’m pregnant this summer (just three weeks until my due date) and I am suffocating! We now turn our AC down to 74 at night just so I can sleep but lately even that hasn’t kept me from waking up hot. I’m really looking forward to getting back to being friends with the heat again.
Loved the post, as always, but am commenting to let you know that I’m totally pinning your kitchen to my someday-house board on Pinterest.
Great post! I will admit, I love the sink… sometime in my future I will have a sink such as that. Oh yes… that is what I dream of- hahahaha!