Surviving the heat of summer.

I personally believe that there are four types of people currently roaming the earth. There are people who thrive in the heat, people who thrive in the cold, people who thrive in both and people who don’t seem to enjoy either!

I am not fortunate enough to enjoy both hot and cold weather, but thankfully I am not unfortunate enough be to uncomfortable in both. I am the type of person who thrives in cold weather.

So, as you can imagine I was not thriving at work today with the thermometer in the kitchen flirting with the 100 degree line. Heat drains me and I was working as if moving at one-tenth of a snail pace was the current fad. In my heat scorched mind I listed off the prep I had to get done before the end of my shift.

Slice tomatoes
Slice bread
Make potato salad
Cut French fries
Make beef gravy

Languidly, I moved through these tasks often forgetting basic details. Yes, slicing tomatoes requires using a knife, so yes, I need to get one. And before cutting French Fries it would be helpful to have a bucket to put them in. My brain simply doesn’t to focus well when it is melting under the force of unrelenting heat.

But with only an hour left in my shift, I knew I needed to get my prep work done promptly. So I downed a glass of ice water and pulled through as best as I could. My shift over, I headed outdoors to my bike who was impatiently waiting for me in the shed.

Surviving the intense heat of summer is trying at times. (I use the phrase “intense heat” somewhat tongue-in-cheek here, I know New York summers are mild compared to the raging heat of other locales.) But guess what makes the hottest summer days a bit more bearable? Going out on the road on my bike. A steady breeze cools my face and restores my sanity, allowing me to feel human again.

And as I rode home today, enjoying the wind and fresh air, I spotted something that gave me hope.
Autumn is just around the corner so I think I will survive.