We don't have air conditioning in this little house we are renting, which seemed like a fine idea when we first moved in because 1) we live in Northern Michigan so one would think it would not get too hot, and 2) we were planning to have moved on to more permanent digs by now. It turns out that this house is not the most efficient, and it gets hot pretty quickly. So imagine our discomfort when it reached 94 degrees this week, and 89 degrees inside the house.
Instead of running out and buying an air conditioner, I ran out and got us an inflatable pool. We put the pool on the deck, filled it with ice cold water from the hose, and within minutes two overheated boys (and one overheated mama) were happy as could be splashing on the back deck. We have repeated this ritual every day as the heat spikes in the afternoon. And it is lovely.
Not having central air is definitely the green thing to do. It saves 33 gallons of gas each month, not to mention saving us $500 each year. But there is also something to be said for feeling the heat of summer. It's something I want my children to experience. I don't mean that I want them to suffer and feel uncomfortable. Rather, I want them to know the pleasure of splashing around in a kiddie pool. I want them to seek the cool wind off the lake to escape the heat, rather than closing themselves up indoors. I want them to know the sweet relief of the first cool breeze in the evening, and to hear the crickets at night outside our open windows. I want them to be a part of their world, their environment, and not trying to escape it. That is worth it to me, even when it is 89 degrees inside.
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