Does the summer heat bother you? I’m not complaining, that’s for sure! It is wonderful to look out my windows and see the green grass all around the flower gardens, and the baskets filled with bright red and pink flowers on my deck. It’s just that, for me, the summer heat wears me out. I’ve always been like that, even as a kid. Too much sun, and I was toast. Literally. Having been blessed with very pale skin, freckles, and limited heat tolerance, if I go out in the sun for more than 15 minutes, I get a sun burn. And it never turns into a tan. It just burns, blisters, makes me miserable, peels, and then goes right back to my (un)fashionably pale, freckled skin tone.
I know that lots of people LOVE to go to the beach or the pool on these blistering hot days. Some people can even work, exercise, run / job, go for a hike, picnic, or any number of other “active” activities when it is 98 degrees in the shade. I can’t do that. I’ve tried, and it never turns out good for me. I really do get physically ill from being outside in the sun and heat for more than just a few minutes at a time. I guess I wouldn’t have been a very good pioneer. I’m pretty sure I would have been one of those ladies who had to drop the piano by the side of the trail and then a little further down the line, they would have stuck a stick in the ground to remember where they buried my body.
Even inside, with air conditioning, if the humidity is too high, I simply wilt. Some days it is just too hot even to think! The past few days have been like that around here. The mornings are the best, before it gets REALLY miserable outside, so I get as much work done as possible. I teach my online classes really early, and then try to get all of the plants watered so they don’t die out there in the scorching heat. Sometimes I eat breakfast, but when it is this hot, I’m usually not even hungry. Well, except for ice cream. That’s what we did yesterday late afternoon, and that’s about all we had to eat all day long. Lots of water, iced tea, and lemonade, but eating anything hot or heavy just sounded really unpleasant.
So . . . . what to do on days when it is too hot to do anything, but there is much to do? You can’t just STOP and do nothing (usually), but it is just too hot and miserable to tackle those big projects on the To Do list. Here are a few ideas that helped us get through the past few super hot and humid days. I still have a lot of other stuff that needs attention, and it looks like the rest of this week is going to be a bit cooler, so I’m hoping to get to the other tasks soon. But when it is just too hot even to think, much less actually DO anything, take a deep breath, and remember that it’s OK to slow down once in a while and rest. Or do something quiet and peaceful while you keep yourself and your home and family safe and cool. Here’s what we did, or are planning to do the next time it’s a scorcher out there.
10 Ideas for Surviving the Summer Heat
READ A BOOK: This one, of course, is a “no-brainer.” Go to the library (before it gets TOO hot out there) and check out a pile of books for your summer reading list. Even if you aren’t the kind to sit on a sandy beach, under and umbrella, with sand between your toes, reading a good book is the perfect way to enjoy a summer day. I’ve never enjoyed going to the beach. I know, that seems rather strange, but it’s true. The idea of getting hot and sweaty, and then sitting in the sand, having it stick to my body and then having to wash it off AFTER I have a sunburn – sorry, but that just is just a miserable experience for me. Even in the shade, unless there is a pretty good breeze, my body temperature goes up to the point of giving me a headache and making me feel rather nauseous. Need a few good ideas of books to read this summer? Check out my blog post HERE with some books on my summer reading list.
WATCH A MOVIE: another simple but great way to spend a hot, scorching summer afternoon. You could go to a movie theater, but depending on the kinds of movies you like to watch, you can also pop a DVD into the player or find something on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or any of the other movies-on-demand sites that are available these days. I’ve never been one to spend a lot of time watching TV or movies, mostly because I have so many other things I would rather be doing, but sometimes I need to stop being busy for a while and slow down – so I am always looking for movies that are historical fiction or documentaries. I guess I feel like if I am going to invest my time that way, that I want to be learning something! HERE is a list of some of my favorite movies that I put together back in the winter for a snowy day, but they will work great for a blistering hot summer day too!
TAKE A NAP: This is one of those things that I always feel guilty about. I guess because I was brought up with the old saying, “First you work and then you play,” I tend to work all the time. If I’m not working on something productive, I feel like I should be. My own idiosyncrasy, I know, but there it is. So it was difficult for me to allow myself to STOP and just rest, even on a really, really hot day. I’m getting better, but I would rest for 20 – 30 minutes and then think “I should be doing something. Anything!” so I’d try to start a project and completely wilt in the heat. This went on all day long, and eventually I got through the day, but it was not an easy thing for me to do. But sometimes that’s just what you need . . . an afternoon nap!
MAKE LEMONADE: This is the best way to cool down on a super hot day! Lots of ice and lemonade, made from scratch or a mix or a can, it doesn’t matter. Just make the lemonade and then sit down in the shade with the fan blowing gently across your face and drink that lemonade!
DRAW A PICTURE / COLOR:
DO A PUZZLE
WORK ON YOUR ART JOURNAL
MAKE YOUR OWN POPSICLES
WRITE A LETTER TO A FRIEND
Actually, some of these ideas are projects I want to work on anyway . . . . so making the best of a super hot day to accomplish one of those tasks that keep falling to the bottom of the TO DO list sounds like a good plan to me! I think we’ll make some lemonade, maybe try some of those strawberry limeade popsicles, and work on organizing our photos. I’ll let you know how it goes! How about you? What do you do on these really hot, humid summer days? If you like to go to the beach, have fun!
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