Long Walks On Leafy Streets

7/3/2014 Near Skyline drive, Shenandoah Mountains, VA
Now we are in the heart of summer. In Washington DC that means hot, sticky days with temperatures in the 90’s and high humidity as well as thunderstorms in the evening. It is difficult to venture out in the afternoons although today I did end up going to my office. I took a towel and umbrella and it helped me stay relatively cool. Yet in such heat and humidity my head feels a little stuffy and lethargic, although I am hoping that the body would adjust to it.
The past week was a very busy week and I could not write on Tuesday as I usually do. First I spent quite a bit of time installing window air conditioners in many rooms of our home. We made a conscious decision not to repair the central air conditioning system that came with the house. In the past two summers we had managed with small air conditioners in the living room and the office room.
This time we decided to add units in the two bedrooms as well. Since we use only one of them at a time it really doesn’t add anything in terms of energy use. The two new units that we bought were a bit too large for the bedroom windows so I removed the smaller units and installed them in the bedrooms. Because the house is old and the windows have screens in them it took some time to prepare them for the air conditioners. In total I must have spent a whole day working on the installation but it feels good now that it is all done. I feel good also about the fact that I was more thorough and planned the work better this time. No matter what the work, it gives you much pleasure when you do it satisfactorily.
After that on Friday we traveled to Philadelphia to help Nicole’s mom with her house. I also ended up installing a window air conditioner for her among other things. Early Saturday morning I went for a run along the Wissahickon Creek. I enjoyed the historic buildings and the lush greenery in that area. Unfortunately the same is not true for the urban areas. In Washington DC the government as well as the nonprofit Casey Trees organization are trying to add to the tree cover but it is a challenge in the inner city. I am happy to report though, that the stretch of Georgia Ave near our old home on Hobart Place now has a nice column of trees on both sides. They have grown taller in the past five or ten years and the street feels much better to walk these days.
This week marked the end of the US soccer team’s run in the World Cup. I have enjoyed being virtually in Brazil for the past three weeks. Only seven more games remain and I will watch them in a relaxed way now that the excitement of the US team’s journey is over. All good things must come to an end in life, but the end of one phase brings the birth of another new phase with its own joy and possibilities. On Tuesday I also had to visit a hospital and the defeat of the US team along with the somber ambience of the hospital brought me in touch with our mortality. Yet the slight taste of melancholy was more like the mood one feels at sunset. You know the day is going to end and you are perhaps even a bit weary but it also brings in a more contemplative, calmer state of mind and connects you with the true nature of life as well as your own self.

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