fishing

Texas Heat

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Sweltering. Steaming. Suffocating.

The heat drains the body’s energy and smothers the mind’s thoughts. I try to keep going.  My heart aches for those who work outside and those without the benefit of air conditioning.

I suppose if I worked in it all day, it would not hit me so hard. I am not conditioned to it.  If one can be conditioned to Southeast Texas in August at midday?  Long after sunset the heat lingers.

I have so much I need to be doing. Inside and out. After getting in a car that has been sitting in the bald open parking lot all day, the last of my will power seeps through my pores and puddles in spots or soaks into my clothes.

I arrive home just wanting to sit quietly and drink a sweet iced tea.

Yesterday, somehow, I did get a few things done. I stopped by the hospital to see about a friend. I did some wash, some mending, repotted (hopefully did not murder) an orchid. I got the outside plants watered.  I put fresh sheets on the bed. I helped him put out hay.

Today, I have been again to see about a friend in the hospital. I have the dryer going. I chopped up some cooked chicken in preparation for chicken and cheese quesadillas for supper.  We will be attending the evening Bible study at our church a little later.

I say all this to remind myself that the Texas heat has not defeated me. Though my mind is sluggish, I am still attending the keyboard.  Good food and clean clothes are at hand.  I am eternally grateful for the central air in our home.

I love summer. I plan to ask for a boat trip to go fishing and swimming this weekend. I’m not sure what is on his agenda.  I want at least one more run before the dog days end.   Him, me, a fast boat and a cold river.  Especially him.

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Unexpected

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He took me to the river to fish Saturday.  I did not expect the opportunity to go.  I caught a fish and got some sun on my legs.  It was hot already.

We saw the big alligator where we have seen him before.  We saw another one just as big where we had not seen one before.  Unexpected surprise!  Two giants in the same slough.

He turned the boat upriver and surprised me with a run all the way to the dam.  There were stretches of river with whitecaps.  Very unusual.  The river is still high from the recent heavy rains.  Several large trees have collapsed into the river channel.

I received news of changes coming for my son and his wife.  They will be moving from Maui to Oahu in June.   This was not anticipated.  But, it will be just fine.  They will be just fine.

My niece and her family are coming to spend a couple of nights with us over the upcoming holiday weekend.  An unexpected treat!  Naturally, he and I are already busy ensuring the house is in order to provide a pleasant and safe environment for the little ones.

While preparing the guest room that also serves as my dressing room, I found an unexpected bonus.  Apparently, when I pulled my summer clothes from under the bed, I missed a bag!  A big bag of clothes I didn’t know I had!  One of my favorite summer tops was in it.  I had forgotten about it.

I wonder what else I have forgotten.  So many things happen through the course of the days and weeks and years.  People I have known.  Places I have been.  Things I have done, seen, said, heard.

My mind does not process things in a way to recall some things.  I remember odd things most people don’t seem to notice, but can’t recall things that happened last week.  There are important events I know I don’t remember.  I have always been this way.  I spend so much time lost in my own thoughts and processing my own ideas and imaginings, I don’t do the thinking processes needed to remember some things.

While it does cause some distress when someone is talking about something I should recall, it provides me with unexpected memories.  Usually with some prompting, I will remember at least part of some occurrence.

Oh, well.  I am sure other folks have some issue or other in their thought processes to manage.  Some deal with fear or anxiety.  Some deal with pessimism or anger.  Some deal with a sense of inferiority.  I don’t fret over my mental lapses.  Mine sometimes provides me with unexpected delight.  Like a bag of clothes.  Gators, on the other hand, I am not likely to forget.