Last week was a particularly difficult one for me.
I was feeling pretty emotional after going through a rough patch with my boyfriend and decided that I should take this opportunity to head up North and visit with my mom.
I don’t often get to see her because we live many states away, so it was a great opportunity to make the 12-hour drive and see how she was doing. Well, at least I thought that it was a great time to make this drive. In fact, it may have been the worst timing possible. Just as I was deciding to make the trip, our outdoor air temperature suddenly swung into summer time. The air quality went from mild and dry to overwhelmingly hot and humid in a matter of two days. We had been coexisting with natural ventilation for weeks, and we were suddenly running the air conditioning system non-stop just to keep the house at a livable condition. Unfortunately, this was the case for my entire trip to my mom’s house. The outdoor air temperature never dipped below 85 degrees and nearly equal humidity. Of course, this was precisely the moment when my car air conditioning system decided to stop working. I was less than halfway through the trip when hot air started blowing out of my vents rather than the cool, dry air I was expecting. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a single open car repair shop or cooling system specialist, thanks to the state-mandated business closures for COVID-19 management. I had no choice but to continue driving onwards, in the blasting heat and pounding sunshine. When I finally arrived at my mom’s house and collapsed in her AC, I felt massively relieved… until I remembered that I still had to drive back home.