Air conditioning an entitlement or a blessing?

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When I was a kid, air conditioning was something of a rarity. As a small child, I recall sitting in front of one of those tacky window air conditioners. It was in our dining room pointing toward the living room. It was the coolest place in the house. I would sit and play blocks and little people for hours letting that air cool my skin. We didn't even have air conditioners in our cars. If I wanted to cool off, I would lay my face against the window glass in the car. It was always just a bit cooler than my face...I heard a comedian once joke about his mother soaking a cloth diaper in ice water to put on their necks and head in the car. I laughed, hard, because I could totally see that happening.

We moved away from that house, but still didn't have the most desired AC. We used oscillating fans to cool the house. I can still remember the hum and shudder of that fann in my room. Lying in my bed for an afternoon nap, that fan would turn, shudder and blow cool air across my small overheated body. The sound was lulling. Nap time wasn't something that I dreaded. Sometimes I long to hear it again, that old fan, though I'm sure it is sitting in a dump somewhere in California.

As a teenager, we moved into a new home and had that beloved AC installed. It was wonderful, but I didn't think twice about it. It became something expected. We moved from our air conditioned homes to our ac'd cars and into the lovely cool stores or offices. Rarely does the heat overwhelm.

I find myself now retreating outdoors into the heat of the summer, letting that summer sun warm and bake my skin into a sweat. When I return indoors the air conditioning, caresses my body. I appreciate the cool air. I realize that the air conditioning isn't just an entitlement, but truly a blessing.