The Heat is . . . Off

Anyone else remember that corny song from the 80s, "The Heat is On"? I have kind of a vague memory of it and am not really sure what the song was supposed to be about, but anyway that has not been the case at our house anymore since last week.

You may remember that we have government controlled steam heat, which is turned on for the whole city at a certain date in the fall, and then turned off at a certain date in the spring. Many times in the winter, if the weather is mild, the heat inside our house would be oppressive and so we'd be walking around in t-shirts and shorts. Our lovely down comforter was sadly just too warm for most of the winter. We'd have to open the windows occasionally just to keep from roasting! I'm not complaining, though, since I would rather be too warm than too cold.

Now we're experiencing the flip side. The heat was turned off last week and the difference in our house is noticeable. Suddenly even John (who is rarely cold) was asking for more of the comforter at night. My girls stopped playing dress up in their swimsuits and Clara Anne asked for me to heat up her apple juice this morning at breakfast.

So, we'll probably have a week or two more of feeling a little chilly inside, and then the weather will catch up. It's been lovely springtime here--the redbuds and dogwoods are in bloom in various places around the city, the trees are sprouting new leaves, and a lovely white flowering tree right outside my kitchen window (we live on the fourth floor so sort of look down on the tree) has had more and more blossoms each day. Happy Springtime! I'm thankful for the cycle of seasons!