Not a desired workout

After the brief appearance of the season that we refer to as “spring” in these parts, summer is here.

And, of course, it brings with it the unbearable heat and humidity.

Unfortunately, this is coming about right when I have gone ahead and made plans to start being healthier and exercising. Over the coarse of the past few weeks, I have been convincing myself that I will start walking or jogging around my neighborhood when I get a chance. I was going to get outdoors this summer.

And then I went out to the car on Sunday to run some errands.

The sweltering, sticky air enveloped me immediately. I was already done for.

Jumping in the car, I blasted the air conditioner and went about my business, fearing that moment when I would be forced to come back to my vehicle and crawl inside before it could cool down.

After wrapping up my duties for the day, I practically sped home to get back into the inviting cool interior of my home.

It wasn’t long after that my fiancee invited me to hang out on our porch.

Granted, our backyard is actually rather lovely, especially after some much-needed landscaping.

Thankfully, our little sanctuary is enclosed with mesh, and cooled with an overhead fan. The shade from the miniature forest near our property alleviated the devastating effects of the sun, and I was able to enjoy myself.

Well, I thought, I could just plan my exercise for when the weather is more accommodating. I’m not beholden to the whims of heat waves. I could always go out earlier in the morning or in the evening. That though process lasted for less than a minute.

I was not going to get up early or go out late for a walk. I was fooling myself. An exercise regime would have to wait until Mother Nature decided to turn down the thermostat.

And then I looked over at the lawn mower, the bane of my existence.

Just a week or so ago, I had used my push-mower to clear out well over a foot of grass growth. It was punishing. It was brutal. I had to take a half-hour break to prevent myself from collapsing from hypoglycemia. I ached for at least a day or two afterward.

It was a workout.

Glancing out over the yard, I noticed that the recent rain was jump-starting the grass again. It would be time for another run with the mower very soon.

As I tried to think beyond the dread of lugging the thing around a lawn that surrounded our home, I considered something — if I could attack the lawn like this and survive the summer heat, perhaps I could even brave it to exercise a bit more.

It didn’t take long to throw that idea out the window, though I suppose I can still get a bit of exercise as long as the grass keeps sprouting up.

It looks like I may have a workout routine for the summer after all.