You Know It's Too Hot When...

warm cement
Originally uploaded by andebos.

On our way to Target yesterday I was floored to realize that it was hot enough to break apart the cement sidewalk near our apartment. (As you can clearly see from the picture) My roommates inform me that it's been this way for quite a while and I've just failed to notice. Wild! The temperature today in Kansas City ranged from mid to high 90's with a heat index around 102-105, unbelievable. This got me thinking about expectations and tolerances in my life - I know wild jump. When I was in high school, my summers were spent as a carpenter for William Jewell College. Part of the dress requirements were jeans, everyday, no exceptions. I don't believe that the summer temperature has increased this much over the years. I figure that the heat now is basically the same as the heat then, the difference is not the heat but me. I was a carpenter from seven to four everyday...going inside to outside, to inside to outside, and over and over - so obviously I became fairly adapted to heat changes and the overall heat of summer. On top of that, I played football and had practice in this heat twice a day. Dressed in full pads, running four or five 200 yard sprints in a row, twice a day, in the midst of the daily heat. Oddly enough, it was never too bad. It wasn't a cake walk...but we all made it through and realistically it wasn't terrible. This has led me to believe that it isn't the heat, but my expectations and how I have built up my tolerance. I now drive with my air conditioner on all the time and am not a big fan of the heat like I was once upon a time. As an educator I have found that children (and grown ups) will rise to the level of expectations you set before them, they nearly always do. This summer heat has shown me my expectations aren't what they once were. I lived in the heat with no problems once, I could do it again if I wanted...maybe more sweaty than when I was 16-18. What other things in life could I do if my expectations were just a bit higher? What things am I doing now where my expectations need to be raised? Perhaps I'm just losing my mind from this summer heat!