Hot Summer!

Now that summer in Memphis is almost over, hopefully we will get some relief from the heat. While the month of July alone ended up being the 8^th hottest ever recorded, it did not necessarily lead to a record-breaking summer. No that was the summer of 1980 when in Memphis, between July 6 and July 20; we had 15 consecutive days of temperatures reaching 100 degrees or more (I seem to recall on one of those days that the temperature never even dropped below 100 for a full 24 hour period).

That was the summer after I got married and the year I foolishly bought a new car without air conditioning (you could actually buy a car back then without AC). But I was young then and obviously could withstand the heat.

So even though this has not been a record-breaking summer with multiple days over 100, it has still seemed very hot. Maybe it is because I am getting older. After all, I did turn 60 this year. But for whatever the reason, it has been most unpleasant.

I much prefer warm weather over cold weather and I always look forward to doing outdoor activities once the spring time comes. In fact my favorite day of the winter is Ground Hog’s Day since I view it as a signal of the end of winter.

I am a runner and I also prefer running in warm weather, particularly around the lake in our subdivision. In fact, I have often said that I will take running outdoors on a 100 degree day over a 20 degree day anytime. But this summer has even challenged me to rethink this statement as running at 6 AM on days when it was just barely 80 degrees proved difficult. I can only assume with the humidity level, that the heat index must have made it feel well over 90. It has felt so hot that I have even seriously considered driving to the gym and running indoors, something I normally only do in the winter when it is below 40 and too cold (at least for me) to run outdoors.

But this summer has not only put a crimp in my running but my top down driving as well.

Anyone with a convertible knows they are not that much fun to drive in the winter time. So a third reason I look forward to warmer weather is so I can do some fun top-down driving. But even in June of this year, a time usually nice enough to drive into work with the top down every morning, it has felt too hot. Driving with the top up and the AC on just makes you feel like you’re missing 90% of the joy of a little convertible sports car.

As the summer wanes, normally I look forward to fall mainly because of the start of college football, my favorite Saturday afternoon activity during those four autumn months. But this year, it’s not just football; it’s the anticipation of cooler weather that I’ve looked forward to ever since early July.

So finally it seems the end of our hot weather is in sight. But as we explore locations where we may want to retire, I will bear this summer in mind, because I definitely don’t want to live anywhere where it gets (or feels) this hot in the summer. Cool weather, hurry and get here!