"Who Needs A/C?? - When I was a kid...."

My boys look at me with blank looks on their sweaty faces as I take a walk down memory lane recalling summers of my childhood and not having the luxury of air conditioning.

Justin announces - "People died back then from heat stroke, MOM!" -

"Only the stupid, weak, old or vulnerable" - I countered.

As I am sure you can gather my a/c is still broke, and will remain that way until next summer - the economy, and my pathetic bank account has seen to that.

Luckily, this summer here in Wisconsin has been cooler than normal. We had one week in July where it got rather warmer than normal, but since that time we've enjoyed a mild, "doable", summer - A summer with nice cool evening breezes- so much so there have been a few nights I had to close the windows.....

Well......

That's over!

Last night the boys and I camped out in our family room...me on the couch, and they laid out on blankets piled to cushion the floor. The three fans we have were positioned around us to create what we hoped would be a cross breeze.

Yesterday evening and after a rather warm humid day, the temp. in the house not only felt warmer than during the daytime hours, but the humidity levels outside and in were just NASTY! Sweltering moisture.

Sleep did not come easy at all. At least not for Justin and I. Kyle who was originally suppose to spend the night at a friend's house, walked in unannounced just before 10 p.m....cranky, hot, and bossy. He had one of his headaches - so out came the allergy medicine which facilitated Kyle passing out in front of the fan as he complained about the heat and Justin making too much noise.

I try to remember what it was actually like being a kid back in the early 70's and not having any air conditioning - and I am drawing a blank. A complete blank. I do remember spending a lot of time at Davis Street beach in Evanston and having a killer tan - but other than that...nothing.

I do remember our top and third floor apartment in the building we lived on Washington Ave having many windows.....windows that went from just about the floor to the high ceilings in the Victorian era building.....and how when you looked outside those windows at you saw was green from the trees that lined the street outside.....Evanston is after all known as a "tree city. "

Yes, plenty of shade, and breeze as Lake Michigan was within walking distance from our apartment...

I better not tell the boys about that - they might protest.

"We only have about a month to get through boys - four weeks or so and the cooler weather will be on it's way back in..."

That didn't seem to work -

Oh well, they will have stories to tell their children now.... "When I was a kid..."

As I write this on my blog this morning, my children are sprawled out on the floor next to me, soundly sleeping.....even though they are no longer small - Justin is taller than me and Kyle has those broad shoulders and frame of my father - as they sleep they still look like those innocent babies I once rocked for hours.....

I'm going to hate to have to tell them we may not be able to go swimming this afternoon because this hot humid weather we're having may spawn some severe storms and a possible tornado ....

But one bright side is tonight it will cool off for a bit.....

Think they will buy that one?