Air Conditioning

Our air conditioner broke.  In ninety degree Florida heat and humidity, it is not a good thing when the air conditioner stops working.  Unbeknownst to us, the coil was corroded and leaking.  The condo below ours was receiving all the water damage.

We paid a repairman to refill the freon as a short term fix while we battled with the warranty company to replace the 11-year-old unit.  Further damage to the home below ours was the impetus we needed to get the warranty service to send their contractor.  The air conditioner was to be replaced that Wednesday, and would obviously be turned off while the work was happening.  However, as soon as the rusted coil was removed, water poured out of the duct.   Our laundry room turned into a swimming pool.  Our downstairs neighbor's living room walls shed tears.

Our one-day air conditioner replacement ended up being a three-day job.  The contractors spent the rest of that long Wednesday removing the soggy fiberglass and flood of water from our home.  What did this mean? This meant that for three days I was stuck at home with the twins without the benefit of air conditioning.

I prefer to go on daily outings so I don't feel cooped up at home.  But I was not comfortable leaving the workers alone in the house, and the house was not tolerable.  Our home was scorching, and I mean HOT.  The thermostat said 87 degrees but the humidity was like walking out of the shower and being unable to dry off with towels. We shut the blinds, turned off all the lights, and turned on all the overhead fans.  My clothes continuously plastered themselves to my glistening skin, and my children lay motionless on the tiled floor in their diapers.  We spent much of an entire day playing in a cold bath.  The carpeting in the bedrooms became damp. When we couldn't stand it anymore we sat in the car in our garage with the air conditioning on full blast.  We went out to dinner just to breathe some cool, dry air.  My kids were so warm that I kept taking their temperature after naps to make sure they didn't have fever.  None of us slept well at night, because we were boiling even with the windows open. I finally abandoned the contractors and took the twins to the pool by myself.

This experience made me thankful to live in a first world country with air conditioning.  I thought about all of the people in the world who live in tropical climates without the luxury of cool air.  I thought about fellow Americans who cannot afford to have an air conditioner in their home.  My children were understandably whiny and lethargic, overheated and flushed.  I was too irritable to enjoy my own company, let alone anyone else's.  The only cheerful whistling in our house came from the contractors, busy at work in the laundry room.

That Friday, at 5:30 p.m., our new air conditioner was turned on.  Insta-cheer! Over the next two hours we literally cooled off, and our interactions with each other softened.  Energy and laughter returned to our home.  Normalcy relieved us all.

Every morning I wake up thankful for our brand new cooling system.  Air conditioning used to be a privilege that I took for granted.  Not anymore.

Swimming, Part 2

Swimming.  We purchased a cheap pair of inflatable water wings and put them on our son.  The package was for older children ages 3 and up, but we decided to try them anyway.  I was surprised that the water wings did not actually keep my son's head from going under.  However, they did offer him enough buoyancy to allow him to successfully float on his back without me holding him.  Not only was my son completely thrilled, but something clicked.  He discovered that his face went under water when he kicked his legs but remained above water when he relaxed and lay still.  So he relaxed, and floated around the pool, kicking and going under only when he could no longer contain his explosive joy.

He brought his excitement to the pool the next day, and shed no tears when the instructor pulled him gently into the water.  In fact, he laughed!  I watched my son put his face in the water, flip himself onto his back and float on the water all by himself!  The instructor needed to rescue him when he laughed so hard he nearly drank the pool.  My son wanted to practice over and over again, and I sat on the side of the pool with my daughter, cheering and clapping.

My daughter watched her brother carefully while I narrated what he was doing so well in the water.  "Look, he is putting his face in the water, he is turning around, he is taking a breath of air, and he is floating!  He is not kicking!  Yay!!"  She clapped for him with me, relaxed and smiling.  Usually she clings to me, all nerves.  But she settled into me and focused on her brother's successes.

Then it was her turn.  My daughter cried when brought into the pool, but without the usual intensity.  She cried louder when she was about to go under.  Then she suddenly stopped crying, stuck her face in the water, flipped onto her back, and came up for air, smiling.  She could not float on her back because she was exuberantly clapping for herself!
 
The instructor had promised me that my children would reach this point, but I had been so caught up in their endless tears that this moment caught me by surprise.  This is my rainbow after the storm.  My children no longer scream during lessons.  Swimming by themselves will be my pot of gold, and I now see it on the horizon.