By The Wiz
‘Tis the season. The smell of sunscreen permeates everything around us. The flip-flops are being evaluated to see if they can make it one more year. The ceiling fans begin their workouts. And I begin to carry a sweater everywhere I go.
We are supposed to see our first 100 degree temp of the year today. And as the temperature rises, the a/c’s get cranked up, and I get frozen out of every building I go into. Short errands, no problem. But if I have to spend any amount of time in a building that’s blowing cold air at me from every angle, I start believing that every vent is out to get me, and I can’t imagine that I am the only one freezing my tuckus off in the middle of summer.
But then I look around, and people are standing under the vents, welcoming the cold air like a gift from God, and I am forced to reevaluate that position.
I think I, and quite possibly my daughter, really are the only ones who freeze indoors in the summer.
I love the warm nights of summer. Heaven will be FULL of warm nights in my section of the galaxy, but overzealous air conditioners will be banned. BANNED, I tell you!
You know how old people’s houses are always hot, and everybody sweats when they go over there? I love that. I’m always comfortable. So when I’m old, you’ll have to be really altruistic to come visit me, because I’m keeping the thermostat at 90, baby.




Wiz — my grandparents heater is set at a cozy 88˙ all year round. In the summer, we usually stay outside (where, in Bear Lake, it is often cooler than 88˙), and in the freezing winters, we wear tee-shirts under our sweaters so we won’t roast.
And I’m a HUGE fan of a/c. Of course, I’m cooking a bun, so am constantly too warm.
Comment #1 by teresaMay 19th, 2008 at 11:15 amAt least you’re willing to carry a sweater rather than demand that all fans be turned off. There’s not a whole lot more many of us can take off to cool down, while there is much you can do to stay warm. (That’s not snarking, that’s gratitude for your willingness to cooperate.) Sorry for your chill.
Comment #2 by Ardis ParshallMay 19th, 2008 at 11:39 amWiz…. I was the same… till I joined the menapausal ranks…. now MOST days I am normal.. hot flashes… in the winter are welcome… in the summer … a minor annoyance…. almost done with the whole M thing… but keeping warm…. I also hate overachieved AC’s on my neck.. and ceiling fans in the BR with dear hubby.. I use a sheet in 80 degree summer evenings.. thank you..
Comment #3 by nancyMay 19th, 2008 at 11:40 amHope the menapause works for you… you probably have a few years to wait… but I am thinking I will not have to subject my family to 90 degree heaters… because now 75 -80 feels okay…
nancy w
well, if you are a freak of nature then I guess I am too. Poor circulation=always cold, and I can’t stand having the AC blast DRIECTLY on me. I’m okay with a general cool temperature, but I do hate to stand anywhere near any vents. Or in the car with the AC on. I’m constanly turning on, then off, then on again…because it’s too cold for me after about one or two minutes, but without it on, I’m roasting after about five minutes or so.
Comment #4 by mellocelloMay 19th, 2008 at 11:42 amI freeze some places in the summer too- At the movies and resturants is the worst’s (maybe that’s why we never go anymore)!!! And at church being a close second! (for me atleast!)
Comment #5 by JSMay 19th, 2008 at 12:18 pmWe live in the DFW area and our house in the winter stays at about 72 and in the summer at about 78. Depending on what the budget looks like, is how we adjust the heat/AC. We go to other peoples house in the summer and I take a sweater, just to be comfortable. I can always put on another layer if I am cold, but I can’t take off layers if I get to warm.
You’re not alone. I freeze too. I don’t mind a cool home, but it’s the “blowing vent” that causes me to shiver. At night, in bed, I’m usually bundled up with all the blankets. I also get really cold after eating a meal.
Comment #6 by AbbyMay 19th, 2008 at 12:37 pmI’m with you, Wiz. My husband makes fun that his Alaskan bride brings sweaters with her everywhere, all summer, in Georgia. Overzealous air conditioners are also the bane of my existence.
Comment #7 by SarahMay 19th, 2008 at 12:55 pmI always get too cold during the summer at church and a lot of the time it is too warm during the winter. I almost have to dress backwards of the seasons.
Comment #8 by Richelle FMay 19th, 2008 at 1:05 pmNope, you’re not the only one. It can be over 100 outside (which it was here in CA just the other day) and I’ll step inside to our perpetually cold house (because my husband gets “too hot” when it’s above 60!) and I’ll freeze. I don’t hear the end of how “weird” I am because of this, but I too really like warm environments. And I also don’t like fans going all the time. Not only because of the noise but because I just don’t like air blowing on me all the darn time! But alas, this is my fate to marry a man who is always hotter than I and who claims to not be able to live life without a fan constantly blowing away. *sigh*
Comment #9 by Carole G.May 19th, 2008 at 1:42 pmGrowing up, we used to take sweaters and blankets to sacrament meeting in Las Vegas in June, July, and August–that’s how freezing cold the chapel was. Apparently to keep the rest of this particular building (Cheyenne and Mustang, if anyone cares)–classrooms, offices, etc–comfortable, the chapel had to be at most 60 degrees! By the time the sacrament hymn was being played, teenaged girls had accosted their fathers’ suit coats, moms wrapped their infants in multiple baby blankets, and hands were rubbed up and down over goose-bumped arms.
Being too cold to get drowsy, though, is an upside (I guess)!
Comment #10 by KerynMay 19th, 2008 at 1:45 pmYeah, women ought to have to wear white shirts with button-up collars, ties, and wool suit jackets and closed shoes to Church.
Comment #11 by Karl KategianesMay 19th, 2008 at 2:10 pmIf they’re still cold, MAYBE we’ll talk about adjusting the A/C.
Those sisters who dress in short cap sleeve tops, skirts, and sandals, then complain about being cold, have no one to blame. YW are notorious.
I think I’m the only person on the planet who froze when pregnant. I could never get warm.
Comment #12 by TiffanyMay 19th, 2008 at 2:19 pmWhen we moved from Portland, OR to Houston, I thought I had found heaven. I haven’t been cold, in our house, since we moved here. No more frozen fingers and toes. Plus, after church, when I get into the steaming car, I am excited because I get all warmed up. I want to invent a superthin cardigan that you can leave in your purse and get out in a restaurant. After drinking all of that ice water, I am an ice cube myself. Don’t get me started on the freezer section of the grocery store. BRRRRR.
Comment #13 by LCMMay 19th, 2008 at 2:35 pmI totally can relate. When I was at school at BYU-H I would wear shorts and a t-shirt but bring a sweatshirt everywhere. It was 85 out side and 65 inside. brrrrr!!
Comment #14 by Jamie JMay 19th, 2008 at 2:53 pmJamie J, when were you at BYU-H? I attended there and my uncle teaches there.
Comment #15 by AbbyMay 19th, 2008 at 3:12 pmI’m always cold. Always. Even whilst-a-pregnant (like Tiffany). But then I cannot stand it when it’s too hot. Over 90 degrees? Forget about it!
Comment #16 by cherylMay 19th, 2008 at 3:14 pmEhhh-hem Karl, are you suggesting wool suit jackets are not optional accoutrements in the male Mormon sunday attire but skirts for females are? What should we do? Wear socks with sneakers and slacks?
Comment #17 by randajoyMay 19th, 2008 at 3:34 pmFurthermore, who are you? King of the thermostat?
“If they’re still cold, MAYBE we’ll talk about adjusting the A/C.” Pff!
You need to come to my house- where we have the LASER BEAM OF WIND!
Comment #18 by Tracy MMay 19th, 2008 at 3:35 pmMan, I would LOVE to wear socks and sneakers and slacks to church. Trying to keep my skirt from riding up and flashing too much leg whilst wrestling the kiddos sometimes becomes quite a feat.
Comment #19 by Heather O.May 19th, 2008 at 4:35 pmI feel the same! I am always cold when I go into buildings in the summer. Always! It’s so annoying. I keep my air conditioner, in our house, at 80 during the summer cause I can’t stand it being too cold. I love sitting outside when it’s hot. My husband thinks I’m crazy. I can’t wait for it to warm up here. It’s still only 50!
Comment #20 by TrixieMay 19th, 2008 at 4:39 pmI stongly dislike going from 93 degree weather to a freezing cold movie theater. I went to see Prince Caspian on Saturday and now have a cold from going from one extreme temperature to another. I’ll have to start bringing a sweater with me too.
Comment #21 by HoneyMay 19th, 2008 at 7:40 pmIn our RS room we have a pile of blankets for anyone who needs one to use during the meetings. I’m usually one of those who needs one. I hate air conditioning, but living in the southwest, it’s an unfortunate necessity.
Comment #22 by RorieMay 19th, 2008 at 8:03 pmI always have to have at least a sheet. But I like it to be cold at night. I like being cold with a warm blanket. It aggravates my husband; or rather, the resulting power bill aggravates my husband.
Comment #23 by SueMay 19th, 2008 at 10:48 pmI, on the other hand, get overheated at amazingly low temperatures. I thought I was going to die of heatstroke last Friday, and according to weather.com, the max temperature in my area was 75 F. I don’t believe it, I swear it had to be hotter than that. I have a hard enough time most years, but now I’m 20 weeks pregnant. I truly am not sure that I’m going to be able to survive this summer. Just thinking about how sick I’m going to be from the heat makes me want to cry, because even when I’m /not/ pregnant, all my energy drains away and I’m nauseous and have headaches a great deal of the time.
I used to want to move to the Pacific Northwest because of this, but with the way it’s been heating up the last few years, I don’t know that I’d do any better since that would add in the humidity too (thank goodness Utah doesn’t have that at least). I’m starting to wonder if Alaska is the only place I could survive the summer comfortably, but unfortunately, the horrid winters would wreak havoc with my fibromyalgia. I’m afraid I’m just going to be miserable and sick from May through October for the rest of my life.
Comment #24 by FirebyrdMay 20th, 2008 at 1:32 amFirebyrd - I just moved to the Pacific Northwest recently, it is usually not too hot here, but when it is, boy does it suck. Most homes (like ours) don’t have air conditioning. Last weekend was a hot one, and Saturday it was 85 degrees inside my house, and humid, I thought I was going to die.
Comment #25 by aprilMay 20th, 2008 at 9:03 amAt least where I lived growing up (southwest) it was a dry heat, and everyone had air conditioning. Though I usually did have to bring a light sweater to school because they kept it freezing in there.
oh yeah, for anyone who thinks 85 can’t be that bad, remember the humidity. Growing up we kept the thermostat between 78 and 80 and I was fine, but now, anything above 76 feels pretty warm.
Comment #26 by aprilMay 20th, 2008 at 9:10 amI’m with ya, the hotter it is outside, the more freezing I will be if I go inside. I keep a coat in each of our cars just because if we go inside anywhere we are basically walking into the arctic. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with A.C!
Comment #27 by ejMay 20th, 2008 at 9:16 amAbby, sorry I just saw your comment. I was there from Jan 1999 to June 2001. When were you there?
Comment #28 by Jamie JMay 20th, 2008 at 9:54 amApril-that’s exactly what worries me, though a part of me would still love to end up there. I’ve got family in the Seattle area, so I spent a fair amount of time there as a kid, and I would just love to be able to revel in all the green everywhere. Alas, what enables the green is the humidity. I’ll probably be odd if I ever do end up there and put central air in, because otherwise I would die on the hot days.
I know people say you get used to heat if you’re not messing around with going between climate controlled places all the time and the outside, but that doesn’t work for me. For the first several years of our marriage, we lived in places with either no AC or an AC that didn’t work, and between my fibromyalgia and my normal heat-induced sickness, I hardly went anywhere. I never got used to it. I’m fair as can be, so it seems unlikely I have any Inuit in me, but my husband suggests perhaps I have some northern Scandinavian ancestry.
Comment #29 by FirebyrdMay 20th, 2008 at 11:41 amLet’s re-evaluate this position when you hit per-menopause.
Comment #30 by Tammy and ParkerMay 20th, 2008 at 11:46 amCarol G. I’m in that same boat. What is it with the fan? In the dead of winter when our bedroom is 45 degrees (we sleep in the basement and I’m too cheep to pay much to heat the house overnight) and we’re using 4 blankets, Sean has to have a fan blowing on him. I HATE IT!!! If I ever divorce him that will be why.
Comment #31 by Alison WonderlandMay 21st, 2008 at 4:26 amWiz, I’m with you and it sounds like a lot of others are too. maybe we should form a support group, wear pins and ribbons, have some sort of telethon…
Safety and security is first and foremost when it comes to car storage
Comment #32 by Debbra DormaneMay 27th, 2011 at 8:43 am