Do we have to go outside?

The last week or so of school is always filled with fun events like field day, which our school held on Friday of last week. This event was held mostly outside, with a few activities being conducted in the gymnasium. I helped monitor an outdoor activity and thought I would roast in the process. The temperature has really heated up in the eastern part of the U.S. Here in northern Virginia, it's gotten downright unbearable for me.

Yesterday my youngest son's class had their end of the year party and they had it outside as well. I didn't even have to do anything but take pictures and I was sweating buckets and utterly miserable. There were these aggravating little flying critters (Someone said they were termites!) buzzing all around and I just wanted to flee inside the entire time.

I have become such a wimp where heat is concerned. When I was a kid when didn't have central air conditioning in our home for the longest time. We opened our windows and used fans to blow around all that hot air. My brother and I would stand in front of the fan and make noises so we could hear our voices change. It didn't take much to entertain us, did it? We must have been hot then, but I don't really remember thinking so at the time. We finally got a window air conditioning unit. Remember those HUGE beastly contraptions? Those things weighed a ton! Anyway... we'd play outside and come in and just stand in front of that air conditioner and it was sheer heaven. And then we moved into a house that had central air conditioning and I guess that was the beginning of my love affair with air conditioning.

My older son's class is having their end of the year party on Thursday and I volunteered to help monitor an OUTDOOR activity. Why? Why did I do that? It's nearly 100 degrees here this week! I might seriously melt right down into my shoes. Why do the kids have to go outside? Can't we conduct the golf ball on a spoon relay inside somewhere? Please? Do we have to go outside?