A Daily Ritual

Perhaps it's simply a coping mechanism, but when the temperature outside is 96 {and feels like 105 thanks to the humidity} a girl has gotta do something to make herself feel like she has a small measure of control over the summer heat.
Each day when the intense afternoon sun makes its way westward I lower the shades in our west-facing windows. We find refuge in the cool dimness. I keep the shades down until early evening when the sun dips behind our big sweet gum tree, finally casting a shadow of relief over the house and yard.