Dripping with Relief

by Laurie Wells — July 9, 2007

Lately, it's been ridiculously hot-sweating-half-your-body-weight-while-attempting-to- sit-on-the-couch-and-read-a-magazine hot. My house was built in the 1950s, when the world was apparently a cooler place because the house doesn't have air conditioning, a swamp cooler, or even ceiling fans. I work from home, so there is no escaping to an overly air-conditioned office for relief from the over-100 degree temp. The other day, I'm pretty sure the heat was causing me to hallucinate as I stared blankly at my laptop screen. So to save ourselves from heat exhaustion, dehydration, and divorce, my husband and I decided to pack up and take the family (us and our 18-month-old munchkin) an hour or so north to my parents' house.

Living in a land-locked state my entire life, my access to large bodies of water has been limited to an occasional trip to a mountain lake or local reservoir. At least until a few years ago, when my parents moved onto a "lake." Although it couldn't really be described as large, it's of sufficient size to allow for a mile-long swim around the perimeter. And, more important, it's cold.

As soon as we arrived, we poured out of our non-air-conditioned ride and straight into the water. It was as if we had all been given a huge dose of caffeine. For the first time in weeks, I had energy. For the past month, my trail running progress has come to a complete halt, as the very idea of just walking outside guaranteed a heat-induced headache. So access to the outdoors has lately been reduced to a squint out the window. But when I dove in, I suddenly felt motivated to swim across the lake and back and then out again. I swam until it was a huge effort to pull my weight out of the water. And then I did the unthinkable--I actually enjoyed the warmth of the sun as I sprawled on the shore with that amazing taut and tired feeling you get from a good swim. And as I work from my parents' living room and watch the sunlight creep ever closer to my temporary office, I fear not the onslaught of afternoon heat knowing that I can find instant relief with a quick dip 100 yards away.