weather | BulgingButtons

Don’t get me wrong… it’s gorgeous. It’s finally starting to get a bit cooler in my area (no more heat advisories at school, so kids can have outdoor recess at last). I’m happy about not feeling like my skin is frying and my lungs are shriveling up after a few minutes outside. A whole new section of my wardrobe is becoming accessible with the cooler weather, and I can wear my favorite NFL team’s shirt (which happens to be long sleeved) without completely roasting. These are all excellent developments. So what’s the issue? The pool.

You see, everyday for the past four months I have put on my swimsuit and gotten in the pool to exercise. Okay, not everyday. I missed ONE day when I was out of town and the weather was bad, but every OTHER day I’ve done it. Not only that, but I’ve really enjoyed it. AND, as an added bonus, my current lab work showed that it has made a positive impact on my health (as well as helping me painlessly shed a few pounds). My doctor’s parting words were something to the effect of, “Keep it up!” Gulp.

I want to keep it up. I really do. I actually enjoy this time to myself in my backyard. I look forward to it each day. But over the past few days I’ve notice the water getting increasingly cooler. My pool doesn’t have a heater. What was really enjoyable is becoming more difficult to do. Pretty soon that water is going to be too cold to enter. Then what?

Join a gym? No thank you. Walking around in a bathing suit in my own backyard is no problem, but in a public place? Nope. And sharing the pool with people who no doubt are there to actually swim can be problematic. I know. I used to be a lifeguard (you know, wearing a bathing suit in a public place).

Head up to mom’s condo? Their pool is heated, or at least it’s supposed to be. And in the 40 plus years that I’ve been visiting that place (including the two brief times when I lived there) the pool has been vastly underutilized. Really, it’s not the worst idea, but the distance, traffic, and horrible neighbor who has nothing better to do than harass people make this option less than ideal.

Use my friend’s community pool? It’s pretty close, and she says it’s heated, but I would have to get her scanning device to get in each time (I guess they’re pretty high tech over there) and the thought of driving home in a wet bathing suit is really unappealing. Brrrrr.

Get a wet suit? Don’t laugh. I’ve researched this option, and I know that they do make them for virtually every size and shape of body, but it’s a pretty big investment for something that I don’t really want to deal with. And apparently if you don’t get the right size it really doesn’t keep you warm. It’s supposed to be very snug when you first put it on. I imagine it’s like trying to squeeze a sausage into its casing. And do they dry in a day? I’m not sure. And where exactly do you keep it? I’m still on the fence with this one.

So there you have it. My dilemma. I know. I should just do a different kind of exercise. Of course. But this is the first time in my life (EVER) that I’ve found an exercise routine that I enjoy and that I’ve been able to stick with. So wish me luck, and a few more days of warm weather.

Is one of these in my future?

Here in the desert southwest we’re in the midst of monsoon season. Yes, that’s a real thing. The past three nights have brought huge storms with tremendous winds and rain.

Night one was the scariest. It started with a giant dust storm that swept through our area, whipping up leaves, debris, and dirt, and depositing a great deal of it into our swimming pool. The dust was following by a torrent of rain, and winds that just wouldn’t quit. Our metal shed couldn’t take the wind and slid around, banging into the adjacent wall. We didn’t realize that it was never secured in place. That will be remedied today.

Night one also did quite a bit of damage to trees in our area. Ours were spared, but our neighbor has two large limbs that are dangling precariously. I worry that the next storm might send them flying into my yard, or worse, into my home. Those limbs, however, are nothing compared to the giant limb that was ripped from one of the stately old trees in my school’s playground. Remarkably the district’s grounds crew had removed it by the next morning. I imagine they worked into the evening to clean up all the sites in our district. Kudos to them.

Night two had us a bit on edge, as we were concerned that it would be a repeat of night one, but in our area at least it wasn’t quite as bad. It didn’t bring the dust of night one, and the winds were slightly less fierce, based on the fact that the shed stayed in place during the storm. Unlike night one, that temperature barely dropped, making it uncomfortable to be outdoors.It was still quite a light show, with flashes and bolts of lightning entertaining us from a safe distance. My poor dog spent a second evening cowering in her kennel, convinced, I’m sure, that the world was ending.

Night three came in with a gentle rain that built steadily until it was a full fledged monsoon, complete with whipping winds and thunder and lightning. Again, there was less debris in the pool, mainly because most of it got dumped in there on night one. Again the shed stayed put, and again the dog cowered.

All three nights we watched the storm from our lounge chairs that we’d put under the patio cover, along with everything else that might blow away or get damaged. Nights one and three were nice and cool, relatively speaking, and I spent a good long time watching mother nature have her tantrums, but night two was hot and sticky and I retreated to the air conditioning after just a short time.

These storms are powerful and dangerous, but there’s no denying their beauty. As long as I’m safe at home and away from the lightning, I love a good monsoon. My poor dog can’t say the same.