I graduated from college 16 years ago today! (The anniversary is always easy to remember thanks to Cinco de Mayo.)
On another mind-bending “time flies” note, I realized last night that I have been blogging for nearly half my life. (The archives here go back to very shortly after this graduation.) Jose asked if any of my friends still blog and sadly, the answer is pretty much no except for a small few who blog very sporadically. I know my posts have declined in frequency lately but I still find myself here a couple times per week and still can’t imagine giving up this space anytime soon.
—
After a warm and humid start, this week is wrapping up with some truly lovely weather — which I will enjoy as much as I possibly can. At the same time, I’m also trying to get my head wrapped around the coming summer weather. Towards the end of last summer I was really inspired by Kelsey’s plan to embrace the summer heat. She lives in the desert so it’s that whole “different kind of heat” there but the idea is definitely the same.
There are two things that immediately come to mind for me. The first is simply to embrace the sweat! It’s hot. It’s humid. Going outside for any length of time over about 3 minutes means that I WILL start to sweat…and that’s normal. Instead of feeling gross and being annoyed about it, I’m just going to start realizing that it is what it is. I’m also going to pay more attention to my summer clothing, and buy items that can stand up to sweat a bit better without looking icky. Time to finally jump all in to the athleisure trend perhaps?
The second is to just get over the fact that sunscreen makes me feel gross and wear it anyway. In past years, I’ve been known to postpone or even avoid activities that mean slathering up in sunscreen because I just don’t like feeling slimy, but with my fair skin it’s an absolute necessity. (I’ve said many times that if/when someone invents permanent sunscreen that you can inject into your skin, I will be alllll over it.) So new rule: wearing sunscreen is not a big deal. Just do it and move on.
—
As I started this post, Jose texted me from the kolache place nearby. He stopped there with the girls for breakfast because they left too late to make breakfast at the daycare…and apparently someone spilled milk all over themselves. I don’t even know which kid it was but they’re now headed back to the house to change so I suppose I should go help them out. Kids! They just attract mess and spills like a magnet!
June says
I will never understand why people who live here constantly complain about how hot and humid it gets. How long have you lived here? Its NOT going to change. Either embrace it or leave. That’s pretty much the way I look at it. Personally I love the hot and humid and hate anything below 65degrees.
Sarah says
I get your point about the futility of complaining about things that are unchangeable…but I think the “embrace it or leave” sentiment is kind of an oversimplification. There are a lot of things I like about living here. The summer heat/humidity isn’t one of them. I think both of those sentiments are pretty common among Houstonians.
Lisa in Port Hope says
I had to reply to your comment about sunscreen. I love the Coppertone sport brand–it has a dry feel and adsorbs into the skin. And despite living a lot farther north than you, I have fair skin so am wearing sunscreen from May to September. And on my face in the winter even. I agree with you though, we should enjoy the nice weather while it’s here!
Sarah says
I wear a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen on my face and that never bothers me. It’s only SPF 30 so I feel like maybe the sliminess factor goes up with the SPF? Who knows. I’ve used the Neutrogena dry touch and that seems ok — but I’ll try the Coppertone this summer!
Mom says
I love the pic of you and Becca at graduation! Such a happy day
Ardith says
Sarah, you look like you haven’t aged since graduation. Kudos to you! I hear you about Texas heat and humidity, even up here in the northeastern part of the state. You will definitely hear me complain from about June or July through October. But, like you, there are many things I like about the state so leaving is not the answer. I just want to continually adjust to the Texas heat (this will be our fourth summer here) and find clothing that minimizes the discomfort. I am thankful we upgraded our HVAC unit last fall, so we’ll see if that helps as well. Cheers, Ardith