I'm Hot, or So I'm Told

You don't know how beautiful that picture is unless you have ever spent a 100 degree southern summer without one. But no more. Folks, we have a working air conditioning unit.

You're all probably voicing a collective "Hallelujah" because your tired of me whining about having no air conditioning. Sorry, but it is seriously hot around here. And being hot leads to two things: sweat and grumpiness. We have had plenty of both. Grumpy, sweaty kids. Grumpy, sweaty parents. Grumpy, sweaty hamsters. We were just a grumpy, sweating mess, until my husband got fed up with all of the grumpiness and demanded that our landlord put in a new air conditioning unit immediately.

Now one of the perks of having a lawyer husband is that some people hold lawyers in high esteem. If you live with one and know all of his lawyer friends, your esteem for the career of attorney might be lower than average. (No offense, love. I admire you for so many other reasons.) But our landlord happens to be one of those people who thinks lawyers have a superior intellect. So when Steven calls demanding that something needs to happen right now, things generally happen right now. I, on the other hand, am just a lowly house wife and have garnered no esteem from this man so my complaining has gotten a nice pat on the head and an explanation of how fans work. We have decided that Steven is the only one allowed to talk to our landlord if we need something done. You know, because he's a respectable lawyer and all.

Regardless of how we got it, I am thankful that we have cold air flowing through our house. The man who installed it was a gem. He's a spry 80 year old man who did most of the work by himself. His skin was pure leather from years of working in the sun and he spoke with the rasp of a lifetime smoker. On the last day he was here he was showing me all of the work he had done and then he paused.

He said, "There's something I've been wanting to say, but I don't want you to take it the wrong way. But I've got to say it because I think women should be told these things. You are a good looking woman. You are. You are just a good looking woman. And if your husband doesn't appreciate it, he's an SOB, and you should go find better. You are a good looking woman. I just thought you should know."

Well, thank you, Gene. (*blush*) Thanks for the air conditioning and the ego boost. I needed both.