I’m so not used to the Florida heat. There was a time when I thrived on it, but the cool Oregon temperatures make for a tough adjustment. If we do eventually move here, the high humidity will be a challenge. Just the opposite was the case when we made the transition from Texas five tears ago. The resultant depressive lack of sunshine required a Happy Lamp and Vitamin D3 supplements. (See Post #437). Old blood is obviously not as adaptive as the thick skin of youth.

It was 91 degrees with 85% humidity here on the Gulf Coast compared with 68 degrees and 60 percent humidity in Portland. I stepped outside yesterday  afternoon and it felt like an oven. It was difficult to breathe and all movements were sluggish in an attempt to get from one air-conditioned space to another. I’m definitely not sleeping with my socks on!

Tomorrow night I fly back to Portland, where I’ll probably wish that the heat was on. I did need a break from the hassles of moving, and it was great to see the kids. I was feeling a bit guilty not taking the time to visit them. I’ll try to get them back to Disney World over the holidays. In the meantime, I hope to be a homebody (or apartmentbody) for a few months, establishing a regular daily routine in our unfamiliar downtown surroundings. There’s a lot to do in getting settled in our new place, so it will be awhile before I once again live the lazy retirement life of the past few years. 

The winter gray will soon settle over Portland and I’ll be anxious to get back in the sunshine for a few weeks. Will a warm beach soon become our retirement haven? Or, will we be too tired to move again? These are both questions that will be answered in the next 18 months. Right now, it’s 77 degrees and sunny here in Florida, as I write this while cooling down from a hot morning run.