UNITED STATES—I’ll be the first to admit it; I’m no fan of the summer months. I like summer, but depending on the region you live in, it can be downright unbearable at times. As a kid, I traveled to the South so many times, that I’ve been to almost every single state.
If there is one thing I can tell anyone about the South, it’s that the weather can be downright brutal during the summer months. Heat is one thing, but add on humidity and you have an entirely new problem.
I tell people time and time again that temperatures between 70 and 75 are perfect to me. It’s warm, but it’s not so warm that things become oppressive in my opinion. When the weather starts to creep into the mid-80s and 90s it opens the door for irritability. First, I’m a sweater by trade, so when it gets hot I sweat profusely. I could drink tons of water and I’ll still sweat like crazy. In addition, my clothes get so sticky all I want to do is get out of them as soon as possible. No one wants to be cloaked in sweat drenched clothing, at least not me.
Perhaps the worst thing about extreme heat is having to DRIVE in it! Yes, you can have air conditioning in your car, but how many people do you know who drive non-stop with their air conditioning going? Not many people, they believe in that myth that if you drive with your air on it results in your gas being drained much quicker. Rather that theory is true or not is still up in the air. Some say yes, others say no.
I feel sorry for those people who don’t have air conditioning in their vehicle and are forced to drive with the windows down. You might get some air in your vehicle, but it’s going to be hot air and that’s not fun to say the least.
What I’ve come to realize in recent years is that some people are just irritable when extreme heat hits them. They don’t want to be outdoors, they don’t want to be bothered with pets, work can be exhausting and people can simply get on a person’s last nerves. I know people who simply want to be left alone when the weather reaches peak temperatures.
Just saying hello can cause them to snap at you. Those are people that I choose to stay away from. It’s one thing to be irritable for a reason, it’s another thing to be irritable just because, but everyone has those things that irks them. Who would have figured the weather would be one of them. That’s the funny thing about summer. If it gets hot, you can cool yourself off, but as soon as you get cool, you want to warm up. When it cold, it’s easy to warm yourself up, but not to the point where it gets too hot. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s difficult to find a balance during the explosive summer months compared to the frigid winter months.
If I had a choice, I would ensure the weather was 60-70 degrees year round. It’s not too cold, not too hot; of course I would ensure we have a bit of rain as well. Dry heat is bad, but it’s even worse on the environment because it creates drought like issues. The state of California knows this all too well. I’m not a fan of extreme heat, but I’m finding more ways to cool off without snapping at those around me. Just remember things could be far worse.
