After the solstice, I wrote about my goal to learn to enjoy summer.
I Will Learn to Love these Hot and Humid Summers
Yesterday was the first official day of summer. This post is my public intention to learn to enjoy the summer rather than endure it. I live in an area where the temperature is especially high and the air is muggy. Around here, people go outside less, not more, due to the heat. I understand why. It feels gross to be outside. The combo of heat and humidit…
Since today is the first day of fall, I’ll give un update on how that went. It didn’t work. Here are a few things I learned:
You can get swimmer’s ear from wearing headphones while sweating (especially if they’re over the ear).
All those water reminder systems are bunk for most people. Drink when you’re thirty. Unless it’s too hot outside then your internal thirst meter becomes broken. That is how I became hungover twice despite having one drink.
Some people lose more salt when they sweat so it’s harder to get hydrated. I am one of those people.
I walked most days and did become more heat tolerant. It’s lonely though because no one else I know in my area is willing to do that, and I don’t blame them.
Heat and humidity makes people more irritable. It also makes it hard to think.
Heat and humidity makes many chronic health conditions worse.
It is almost becoming too hot to enjoy the beach.
When it’s too humid, swimming isn’t refreshing.
Even though I find myself more frustrated with summer than not, there were are few things that mitigated the awful weather or were even enjoyable. These included:
Spraying myself with a hose before going on a walk or walking through a neighbor’s sprinkler.
Drinking smoothies, lemonade, and electrolyte mixes. I will continue to be amazed at how much a nice drink improves my mood.
Getting a gym membership and exercising indoors.
Buying and using bone conducting headphones that go on top of your ear rather than in or over them. They can’t give you heat-related swimmer’s ear.
Going on night walks, which worked better for me than trying to become a morning person.
It’s hard to enjoy a season that can feel so punishing. Knowing that human activity has made it worse makes it even more frustrating. But I will not give up. Summer will become an enjoyable, or at least a tolerable season. So be on the look out next year when I try this again. In the mean time, I will embrace autumn. It’s the easiest season to love.