Heaven and Hell- I’ve Experienced Both During My First Month in Texas
You know that meme that has been circulating around this summer. It goes something like this:
“I’ve got to get my life together. This extreme heat made me realize I can’t go to hell!”
Well, I totally get that. We are going on day 12 of being without air conditioning. If you’ve ever been to any state in the lower half of the Lower 48 during summer, you can imagine how hard it would be to get through one day without AC let alone twelve.
The reason this has dragged on so long is because we have been waiting for our warranty company to take care of the problem. The leak was diagnosed a week ago today and the part is finally here. I can here the drilling going on as I write this, but still feel the trickle of sweat running down my back.
I must acknowledge that there has been a little bit of heaven mixed in to the reality of living in the inferno known as my home (we have thermostats in every room registering anywhere from 88 to 97 degrees — indoors!)
We have taken advantage of as many venues with AC possible including seeing “Black Widow” on IMAX, eating at restaurants more often than usual and even getting a hotel for a couple of nights. Cedric and I took advantage of the pool at Best Western while Jack worked in cool conditions.
We also experienced our first camping trip in Texas. The preserve is only an hour away in an area known as Texas Hill Country. This is the beautiful area we passed as we drove into San Antonio for the first time — lots of green, rolling hills. The campsite was infested with deer — bucks, does and fawns everywhere. They were quite fearless and one even licked my husband’s hand. We used the pool there, played mini golf and enjoyed the trails which meandered through unusual trees.
A family in our church congregation found out about our predicament and offered to let us stay overnight. We enjoyed a smoked steak dinner and played 80’s trivia while sharing stories and getting to know them. We also had our first potluck with our ward (congregation.) The Bishop did all of the grilling and he is quite the master! On a side note, this is the first Bishop we’ve ever had that wears snakeskin boots — such a Texan, love it!
So, in the midst of an enormous challenge, we are finding moments of respite and even joy. Would we have ever chosen to camp in our backyard and view the stars from our screen tent cover?
Last week I had a job interview with the charter school I’ve wanted to work for and I actually had to wipe the sweat from my face with a cloth during the interview. Now they know that I am human and perhaps even resourceful in looking after children’s needs.
As I close this story, I can already feel cool air circulating. The HVAC technician is finishing up. And that rooster that I mentioned before. I hadn’t seen him for a couple of weeks and was getting a little concerned. But today on my way home from H-E-B, I saw him out pecking around outside.
A harbinger of good things to come.
