9 July 2010
Wanted:
Lessons on how to be a southern belle. Maybe not belle lessons, exactly, but I require instruction on how to relax gratefully into the heat, instead of wilting stickily.
It’s been in the mid-90s all week and, as expected, I’m dealing with it without much grace. “Oh,” my mom would say with just a hint of a patronizing tone in her voice, “you’ve never done well in the heat,” and what’s so infuriating is that she’s entirely right. Horrifyingly, I lose the desire to do anything, which… not wanting to knit? Cook? Sew? Run around the city? Is this what it’s really like for some people? I’m falling asleep in the middle of books at a rate unseen since the summer before prelims, when a reading list of 150-something novels made a mid-morning or mid-afternoon nap always seem like an enticing option.
So far, I seem to be adopting the feline strategy of heat management, which involves stretching myself out somewhere near a fan and listlessly dabbing at the sweat dripping from my face.
This has basically been my posture all week. Unlike Sebastian, however, I’m not quite desperate enough to cuddle up against the cool porcelain of the toilet. As a sidenote, I should mention that it is surprisingly disconcerting to be solicited for a belly rub when you go in to use the bathroom. Hi, cat! I love you, too! I just… I have something that I need to do first!
Also unlike Sebastian, I am not nearly as cute while trying to stay cool, and I complain a whole lot more. Perhaps it’s a good thing that I live in the frozen north, eh?
All I can offer is what I picked up when I lived in the South for eight years. Always have ice water handy; it’ll feel cooler if you have a bit of mint in it. I really mean always, take it with you everywhere, even running errands.
Wear a large floppy hat to keep the sun off of you and wear loose clothing and as little of it as is decent. Sundresses are cooler than shorts.
Learn to move at a slower pace. Walk places as if you’re savoring the walk, never hurry or rush about. Stick to the shady side of the street or the shady side of the room if you’re indoors.
Inside keep a fan running, using it to pull cool air from the Northern side of the house at night and blow it out of the Southern side during the afternoon. If it’s really hot, round up a block of ice and place it in front of a fan that’s facing you. It’s like instant A/C.
Don’t move too fast. Drink lots of ice water and/or iced tea. Don’t be tense, especially in your abdomen and upper thighs; those muscles generate a lot of heat. Don’t resist. From the Tao Te Ching: “Stillness overcomes heat, activity overcomes cold.”