Yesterday was a whopper of a hot day here at Pop-pop’s beach cottage. I mean it was a humid, fly-biting, feels-like-the-air-has-already-been-breathed kind of day. Around 9 O’clock, I checked in on My Captain, (who is in week two of his beach chair shed project that he and his best friend Ty had started when Ty’s family visited earlier last week)…
(remember he is on vacation….).
and found him in the garage, planing wood.
He was drenched with sweat. Even his hat was dripping…and it was only 9 O’clock in the morning!
It was already nearing 100 degrees (it got to 105 by Noon – which in Delaware is most emphatically NOT a DRY heat) and My Captain was out working in it.
He’s the kind of guy who gets hyper-focused, in case you hadn’t noticed. Anal Retentive to the extreme, he wouldn’t even stop to drink until I stamped my foot and unplugged his power cord.
Yes, I really behave like that. I’m a tyrant. Don’t judge.
So I took it upon myself to make him a work-oasis. I put a beach umbrella out where he was working in the sun. I took no less than three INDOOR (as in, not safely meant for OUTDOOR) extension cords and put a fan outside (I’m an incorrigible rebel, I confess. I also rarely put the milk away when I get it out.) where he would be, and switched that puppy on to ‘High.’
Did it make a difference in the heat?
Er, no.
But I bet he felt loved.
He did eventually call “uncle” and gave it up around 3pm, when he got tired of the relentless, oppressive heat and biting flies. We dragged him down to the beach, where he was still in relentless, oppressive heat, and was still sweetmeat for the biting flies, but at least he could go jump in the cool, rather shark-infested Atlantic for respite.
Ah, living the dream, I tell you. Living the dream.
He plans to finish the shed tomorrow…has to, really, because he signed up to work Overtime at the firehouse for Friday, and so will be cutting his vacation short. (Someone has to pay for my Lindt and Hershey Chocolate habits, for which no rehab has put even the slightest dent.) As far as the shed project goes, that means putting the siding on, building and installing the doors, and painting any trim. But he’s totally got this. He’s a hyper-focused animal, My Captain. It’s what makes him so good at his job as a fireman and FEMA task-force leader. He’s always super focused on the mission!
And we’ve decided to name this particular mission ‘The Hot Box’ in honor of the tortuous conditions he slaved under and survived!
Thank you, Beloved!!!
Mama Boe 