I am always amazed that I survive the heat and humidity in Louisiana each summer. It is just miserable. My hair never dries and feels so heavy. My deodorant never works. My clothes wrinkle. Outside it is hot so you go inside the air conditioning is too cold. The condensation on the windows leads to mildew which I will have to clean if the humidity gets low. Everyone seems cranky and lethargic. Yet year after year I languish in the heat slathered in sunscreen, wearing a big hat and long sleeves. I do not tan and have given up any hope of being a bronzed beauty. I should really look into going way south like Argentina or Antarctica to escape the sun but it is likely that I never will. I know what to expect after 40 something years of enduring the summer broil yet that first blast of heat just sends me into waves of depression.
At the gym as I struggle through my cardio routine my face turns bright red. No cool towels or ice water negate the redness. People think that I am dying or having a heat stroke so they express concern. No, I am not dying I just have extremely fair skin. Haven't you seen anyone without a tan in the summer? I go through this drama every time the gym hires new trainers or new members show up. Even after I leave the gym and go to the grocery store or run an errand people just stare. Beet red face; lily white arms and legs dripping in sweat. What a vision of beauty!!
On the other hand my boyfriend just bakes. You would think that over the years I would have developed some type of coping mechanism for the summer heat or through the evolution of generations of my family that have lived in the South, I would be Teflon coated but NOOOOOO!!! Bill moves here from Chicago and acclimatizes immediately. He can mow the grass, wash the car, workout in the heat of the day and remain cool. Tan should be his middle name as he just bakes for hours with no sign of even a slight burn. I am sure that my constant pasty skin annoys him but I am not tanning or for that matter no fake tans.This is clearly unfair and I question evolution.
Another summer phenomenon is my mother. She never sweats or in her words "perspires." She has never been in the sun for any length of time and has never had a tan. This does not bother me as much as the lack of sweating. So why do I sweat so much? I understand the fair skin but why the sweat? I mean my mother NEVER sweats. I drip. She always looks cool. Her mascara never runs down her face. Her deodorant always works. Her clothes never wrinkle. Her friends are the same way. It drives me crazy.
My father on the other hand has fair skin and when he was younger he was always in the sun. He sweats but the heat never seems to affect him that much. I feel as though I am going to faint. What happened to this trait of being heat resistance? Again I question evolution. On the downside his many days in the sun resulted in multiple skin cancer lesions which had to be removed. This alone is an incentive to stay clear of the sun's rays.
So back to my original question, why take a shower when I will just sweat gallons as soon as I leave the house? I guess because hope is eternal. Maybe it won't be so humid today. Maybe it will be cool and cloudy. Maybe because I will smell better. Maybe I can finally dry my hair. Maybe because the cool water feels good. Maybe my beet red face will return to its normal color. Who knows?
My Pucci post today is a vintage shirt from the late 50's. The design by Emilio Pucci was inspired by Maya and Aztec hieroglyphics . The colors are aqua blue, olive green, coral, white and magenta with the figures outlined in black. The colors have faded slightly. The shirt is silk with beautiful fabric covered buttons. I scored this gem on Ebay and weirdly enough a month later I won the bid on a matching purse. I could not believe my luck as the blouse came from an estate in Maryland and the purse from Sherman Oaks, California. Also, it is a size 16 which freaks me out because I usually wear a size 6 or 8. So much for vanity sizing.
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