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.