I left the air conditioning off for most of the day, because only 1 member of the family was going to be in the house most of the afternoon, and damned if I'm going to air-condition a 2300-sq-ft townhouse for hours on end for only 1 person.
By the way, that 1 person? Wasn't me. Key point.
So, David got to enjoy some solitude, at the price of feeling a bit, well, poached by the time the rest of us returned from our various classes and play dates and errands. I was hoping the hot house would encourage David to go out and look for jobs in air-conditioned stores and eateries, but no such luck. He seems content to continue to rake in money from hapless older people who cannot figure out how to move their photos from their cameras to their computers. So be it. Lord knows he isn't going to run out of customers any time soon.
Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, it's hot. Africa hot. So I turned on that AC as soon as I walked in the door. Do teenagers deserve air conditioning? Discuss.
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| I'm still waiting for the wealthy and wise part. |
In other news, I have a mysterious rash on my arm that I fear may be fatal. At least, if itchiness can kill, it could be fatal. So, if you don't hear from me again, it's because Larry, not believing my dire prognostications, provided me with some hydrocortisone cream rather than calling in the best medical minds to focus on my problem. I tell you, I'm so tired of not being taken seriously around here.
[Benjamin Franklin poster: TheFederalistPapers.org]
i wish my elder child could learn to mooch off hapless elders like that. I keep the a/c on in my house of about the same size because I would go mad if it were any hotter inside. It's bad enough I can't sleep, I don't need to suffer while I'm awake too.
ReplyDeleteYou might try smearing some Benadryl (generic is diphenhydramine) cream on that bad boy, too. Stuff is magic. Unless it's not, and you die of Itchy Arm.
ReplyDeleteIn other news--I was being so good about getting out there and walking in the morning, but it gets hot SO early lately, I've pretty much stopped. Also I'm so sick of my neighborhood! I hate exercise.
Teenagers do not deserve air conditioning, but here it stays on anyway, because bad things happen in our house if humidity gets in.
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for getting up early to exercise. I have to get my kid up at 6 a.m. and I've been trying to stay up and get stuff done, with only moderate success. It is one of the unfairnesses of life that exercise, and not mounds of chocolate ice cream, makes us feel healthy.
If said teenager happily cleans up after himself, is helpful and is pleasant to be around then sure, but if he behaves like an average teenager then your power bill is safe (my kids would have no chance).
ReplyDeleteI too have been getting up at 5.45 am (which kills me as I am NOT a morning person) - walking the dog and doing some exercises before work, generally eating better. Even doing a weekly gentle yoga class. Except for past couple of days with a virus I've been feeling so great, lots more energy - which was my main aim (but am over the moon at the added benefit of a 3 kg weight loss over past 6 weeks) Working really long hours at the moment, and my new role involves a lot more sitting than I was used to - needed to make a few changes to the lifestyle or my back was going to seize up permanently!
I say teenagers deserve absolutely all the AC that they choose to pay for. Otherwise? Meh Suck it up. But that's from the viewpoint of remembering my folks actually pitching a tent in the yard for us to hang out in during the heat of the summer because AC was not happening yet then. You know, back in the dark ages. Can still smell the heat radiating off of that huge army surplus canvas tent. I've just come in from trying to do some mowing this AM. It's not yet 80 degrees, but the humidity was not headed in the correct direction, so I quit. I mow way too many acres, but am having to adjust my standards as I age. So now when people ask how long it takes to mow my place I just admit that it takes all summer. I go where it is tallest, mow until I cannot stand another single second of said activity and I quit. Lather, rinse, repeat, all summer long. The magic put-on-all-boo-boos here is calendula ointment. It's true what they say about healing taking longer as one ages, but that stuff is some kind of wonderful. Now I have to confess to my complete inability to write a short comment. Have a great day! timberdawn
ReplyDeleteAnd here in Utah it's rainy. Can you imagine? Utah is desert! Lord knows we need it. Re: arm rash...it's probably cancer of the arm and will need to be amputated. (That would be my daughter's diagnosis.)
ReplyDeleteMy children are lucky and don't appreciate it one bit. I NEED the a/c on (set to "snow") or I would not survive. They prefer it hot. Maybe when I need to punish them I'll make it even colder in here. Yes, that's the perfect plan!
ReplyDeleteI am not a morning person, unless by morning you mean 2am. I go to bed way too late, then have to get up before 6:30 just to get the littlest one to school. Can't imagine exercising at that time of the morning. Actually, I don't do more than imagine exercising at any time of the day. Actual exercise? Ummm, it's been a while.
we are going for the worse parents ever award.
ReplyDeleteWhen our 2 were "growing" up, we had no a/c in the house or car... good lord were we mad???
and no dish washer.
and a lawn mower that was my grandfathers.
Need I go on??? They love to bring these things up and toss them out there.
It is like the I walked to school in 40 feet of snow and no shoes stories....
No one pays me any mind either...
oh- and we have a/c now and a dishwasher, why should we suffer???
I'm lying here on the sofa with the a/c blowing on me (set to "snowflake") BUT when my teen was home alone during the summer, this did not happen. By his own choosing. On 99 degree days. So when I got home from work at 7pm, the house was 85 degrees and it was too hot to eat dinner (which wasn't even prepared because I'd been at work all day)(This was the week when my dh was at scout camp). THEREFORE, teenagers do not deserve a/c. You made the right choice.
ReplyDeleteMy husband has been making me turn off the computer by 10pm. It has improved my sleep and increased the kids' chances of a good breakfast. However, I am now behind on blogging.
My youngest has a rash on his arm, too. I totally thought of you when deciding NOT to google it!!!
ReplyDeleteTeenagers do not require A/C. You did well there.
Glad your New! Improved! lifestyle is working out for everyone's benefit!