Sunshine and Warmth

I wrote this blog entry on June 25th--right before temps went up into the high 70s/low 80s.  It was plenty hot--not nearly as hot as I love summer to get, but then again there’s no air conditioning either.  Plus the humidity adds to how hot it feels.  Suffice it to say I loved wearing my flops every day.  Last night at a neighborhood BBQ however, it was so cold I could see my breath.  Sigh...

I have a sunburn today.  A nice rosy glow which feels a bit like an admonishment and more than just a little ironic considering I don’t know what I was thinking.  Making assumptions most likely, and you know what assuming does.

It started to worry me when my English neighbors described the barely 70 degree weather as “hot.”  So I looked it up.  For England, that is hot.  Days in the high 70s are rare and it almost never gets up into the 80s.  

I was fit to be tied.  WHAT?!?!  WHAT?!?!  In their so called “hot” days I’m still wearing lambskin boots and wool sweaters--not to mention the down vest! I know it seems minor, and perhaps I am overreacting, but this Colorado girl has come to love her 300+ days of sunshine per year (here they measure it by the hour--God help me!).  I thought the last two summers by the pool were just about heaven.  It’s been tough.  It was just heating up when I left Denver this last visit. To return to the cool temps this side of the pond and learn it isn’t going to get any better?  It’s a bit much to bear.  Add to that the lingering feeling of coolness I have felt in my relationships and encounters with English people and well...I was having one of those weeks.

Saturday was the Warlingham Village Fair.  I wore a wool sweater and my down vest for crying out loud.  I was such a grump on the way there that Scott asked me if I maybe needed to go home until I could be sweet.  “NO!” was my ever-so-gracious reply.

The boys had a pony ride and won some plastic weaponry in the hook-a-plastic-Dalmatian game.  Then our neighbor Kelly ‘roped’ us into doing the tug-of-war.  A short while later we were stretched out on the grass chatting away like old friends with our fellow teammates.  The boys joined in quickly with their sons and daughters.  By the end of the day we had played badminton and even BASEBALL!! with our new friends in the park, got rained on, sustained a few injuries, and what do you know--got sunburnt.  

We’ve been to play again at Kelly’s this week.  Another sunny English day that saw the boys splashing in the paddling pool and having tea on the grass with their friends.  I woke up this morning with another sunburn.  A pink nose and a new perspective.  Maybe it’s not quite as cold here as I thought.