It's been in the 90s the last week, so I am thankful for the A/C being up and running. I am thankful for a number of things, but they don't mean anything to anyone but myself.
Having a bi-level home, I'm told that it will never truly be wonderful, but it's fine to me. I grew up without A/C. I've lived in Ohio all of my life in Ohio aside from trips to Florida, DC, and Mexico, so the temperatures we have here are about the same as what I had where I originate.
My parents still live in the same house. They still don't have A/C but in the downstairs kitchen window. There are essentially four rooms(two upstairs bedrooms with a living room, kitchen and a mudroom that has been insulated downstairs).
Aside from not having A/C, I shared a room with my brother. The light switch was a chain that dangled from the ceiling in the middle of a 15 by 15 ft room. It was a long chain that my brother used to take down and put through his nose and pull out of his mouth like a carnival sideshow.
We used box fans and screens in the three windows to circular air in the room.
I grew up with insomnia so I don't think the heat really bothered me as much as my brain not wanting to shutdown at night along with the Drive-thru speakers at Hardee's.
We also never had a car with A/C either. It was just as well to have the windows down since my folks both smoked a couple packs of cigarettes a day, regardless of where they were.
Even the hottest place I ever stayed, Mexico, didn't have A/C.
Electricity was too expensive, I guess, so my host family didn't have it. It was a dry heat, but I still would wake up in a sweat drenched outline of myself when I didn't sleep in a hammock.
I got sick when I went to Cancun where all the plazas were 68 degrees and the outdoors were humid and in the 90s. I gotten eaten alive by mosquitoes even wearing Off, so I took to wearing jeans to cover my calves and ankles rather than under protective shorts the rest of the trip.
To this day, I rarely wear shorts unless I'm doing something sporty.
One could argue that I am thankful for A/C because of climate change, but I would disagree. I could go without it if I didn't live with J. J needs A/C and life is easier for me if the A/C is on and working. Getting the A/C was made easier when my father offered to help. Not having a steady income makes me question any purchase that I don't personally feel necessary. If I want to stay married, I need to have A/C.
I am thankful for my parents' help. I might have unpleasant memories from my childhood, but I can block them out seeing that I use such experience as a means to appreciate the simple joys I do encounter in adulthood.
I can say A/C makes me happy because it makes J happy. J is the soul of our family with K and B both gravitating to her. With that said, J keeps me going regardless of my personal failings.
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