This is the time of year when all the weather reporters around here start talking about the heat dome sitting on top of the city. It’s pretty hot and muggy. This is not a problem for me. I kind of love it, but Michael does not. At all. I picked out new ceiling fans last week and Michael spent two days getting them installed. First of all, the new fans work on all the speed settings. They are the right size for the space and they don’t make any noise. Most importantly, the new fans actually move cool air around. Michael can often be found standing under one of these ceiling fans, eyes closed, and face turned up towards the ceiling. He has stopped measure the temperature in degrees but in the number of shirts he’s worn that day. Four shirt days are pretty hot, but four shirt and two pairs of shorts days are unbearably hot.

We never want to take the camper anywhere during this time of year. Then, we get to the end of the camping season and I have regrets about not using the camper enough. This year I anticipated this weather and camping ennui and found us a campground up north. Turns out that we can travel about six hours north and reach more comfortable temperatures. Last night Michael was looking at the high and low temperatures for the area we will be in and he got very excited. He booked us some kayaks for one day and said “This is going to be so nice. The weather is going to be BEAUTIFUL! You picked a good spot!” I’m currently patting myself on the back for my forethought.

I am surrounded by people who have moved to KCMO from far more glamorous places, but also people who have lived here all of their lives. It seems that they all have mixed feelings about living in the middle of the country. Kansas City Missouri was definitely not my first choice for a place to settle down. It wasn’t even on the list and yeah, it isn’t perfect. I could make a list of things I don’t like about this city, but the list of things I do like about it far exceeds the don’t likes. One those things on the ‘like’ list is the convenience of leaving the city and not having to travel far to get to some interesting places. I don’t have to travel a great distance to get away from the heat. So, by the time you are reading this, that is exactly what Michael and I will be doing. Traveling north to slightly cooler temperatures.

This week I am thankful for air conditioning, new ceiling fans, and the promise of cooler temps to come.