Keeping Cool

This is July in our little home:
The first week, the air conditioner stopped cooling.  We put in a new filter and it helped enough.
The next week, it stopped turning on unless we fiddled with the thermostat for awhile.  Maintenance put in a new thermostat, and it worked.
The next week, it stopped turning on altogether.  Maintenance put in a new blower motor, and it worked.
This week, it stopped doing anything and smelled like toasted marshmallows.  There's a wiring problem and who knows what else.

It's getting fixed right now, and we're hoping that we'll have air conditioning in August, because August in Kentucky without air conditioning is awful.  I know, because my old car didn't have air conditioning for the last two years I drove it.

So I've been keeping it cool by enjoying the mornings before the sun is beating down and lying low in the afternoon and evening.

And I realize after a little thought that I'm actually quite fortunate to be having these problems, because I actually have an air conditioner, and also because they've come at a time when I can easily be home for the maintenance staff and now a contractor to come by.  And I'm fortunate because we are moving into a home soon with an air conditioner that's only a year old.  And I'm fortunate because this is one of the coolest summers we've had in Louisville in years.

And that is how I find grace and gratitude in the mundane and annoying.

["Fountains, Madison Sq. Parek on hot day" from the George Grantham Bain Collection of the Library of Congress, via The Commons on Flickr]