So Cool

I have always prided myself on being one of those people who doesn't need an air conditioner in summertime. I live in the northeast, where it theoretically doesn't get too hot. I have fans in my living room and bedroom, and I've lived like this for years. And while summer has meant some lifestyle changes - no oven-use, if I can avoid it; no blankets; extra water bowls for the cats - I've never felt the need to change. A friend gave us an old window air conditioner unit early in the spring, and I appreciated it, but it has been sitting in our storage room unnoticed since then.

And I've been dealing with this summer, and handling the heat, and handling the humidity, or at least telling myself that I was handling them while I melted into a less and less functional puddle of humanoid goo. So, after I spent most of Thursday night dreaming that I was a firefighter and my protective suit was malfunctioning and I was burning to death, my sweetie and I finally decided to install the air conditioner yesterday.

I felt like a sellout. I felt weak, and energy-wasteful. I felt, for the first time in a week, like I could sleep through the night.

Our bedroom is cool and comfortable and liveable. The rest of the house feels like a swampy hell in comparison, but I can handle that. Because our house has at least one room that is tolerable. I love our air conditioner. Mister Freezy has turned my summer from a sweltering stretch of heat and lethargy into a sweltering stretch of heat with a small pocket of sweet, breathable comfort.

I love my air conditioner. I am a happy, happy sellout.