Full of Hot Air

We are currently on day 6 of no air conditioning during a summer of record-breaking heat here in central Texas. (For reference, the high today is supposed to be 105, and 109 by Friday. Awesome. Can't wait.)

This saga began last Wednesday evening when we arrived home to a very warm house. It was unpleasant, but with a few industrial sized fans blowing right on us, we managed to sleep (somewhat.) We figured that the AC repair crew would make it out on Thursday, and the problem would be solved. When they didn't arrive until 5pm the next day, we became a little concerned... and then a lot more concerned when they told us the compressor was out and that they would need to order a new one. I don't know much anything about air conditioners, but, as I understand it, the compressor is essentially what pumps in the cool air. So, you know, it's kinda important.

That night we stayed in a cheap motel on I-35 with high hopes of a cool house by the weekend. Said hopes were dashed when we found out that the compressor would not be in until Monday at the earliest. That meant a full weekend with no AC. Let me provide a little color... with a drafty, poorly insulated house from the 1920s and outdoor temps well over 100, that means it is no less than 94 degrees inside our house at any given time. You could, if given enough time, bake cookies on our kitchen tiles.

We managed to get a portable AC unit to tide us over, and very quickly discovered that the portable unit is fantastic if you only want to cool approximately 3 cubic feet of air immediately in front of it. Unfortunately, if you want to cool your whole house, or even one room, no dice. Necessity being the mother of invention, J has rigged up a little contraption whereby we put the AC unit at the foot of the bed, duct tape our sheets over it, and then prop up the sheets between the AC unit and the bed with... wait for it... golf clubs. This creates a small wind tunnel of cool air on our legs. It's still 94 degrees on our face, but the cool air under the sheets makes sleeping somewhat tolerable.

Cooking is another story altogether. After eating out for 3 days, we decided that was no longer sustainable and now it's become every man for himself, foraging in the fridge for whatever assortment of foods we can throw together that require no heat whatsoever to prepare. Last night we had leftover pasta, cold rotisserie chicken, and grapes. What's that you say? You want an invitation to dinner? Come on over!

After a weekend spent full of creative ways to spend time indoors in other people's AC (aimlessly strolling the aisles of Target, getting stroller demos at Buy Buy Baby, lengthy visits to the grocery store... and pharmacy... and Lowe's, a movie, church, a couple more meals out), we are plum out of ideas. And patience. The compressor wasn't in yesterday, but thankfully arrived today. Can they install it today? Of course not. That would be too easy. So we're crossing our fingers for tomorrow.

This enormously whiny post is just to say... it's hot and we're tired of it, but, boy, are we thankful that we even have a house with the possibility of AC. I've seen a few homeless people since this ordeal began, and my heart goes out to them. I am really conscious of the homeless during the cold winter months, but have never really thought about their needs during the summer. If anything, this experience has given me the conviction that I need to be more intentional about helping out the needy in the off seasons-- not just around the holidays when it's top of mind. And when that air conditioner shudders to life (hopefully) tomorrow, I will never, ever take it for granted again.