Discontent
August 6th, 2026
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Summer is the season of my discontent. The worst season of them all. Strange, as I loved summer as a youngster and young adult. About 10 years ago, the situation began to change. Coincidentally, it was about the time when climate change stopped being just numbers in reports and warnings from scientists, and instead became something felt with each heatwave, marked by more sweat, tiredness, and a need to switch to survival mode more often than not. And no, I am no better equipped to handle it than I was then. I wrote yesterday about adjustment, and that is what I already do. Still, I feel the same unpleasant stickiness and physical slowdown as an innate response from my body. Today in the morning it took me no more than 7 minutes to get from my car to the train, and that was enough to sweat profusely and be tired. And that was at 7 in the morning. And I am in relatively good shape, so I cannot even imagine what out-of-shape or elderly people feel. Summer is no longer a season of rest and travel and vacation; it has become something to survive. Unlike previous summers, this year I did go on vacation in July, taking advantage of the work shutdown, and even though I enjoyed the trip, I still felt physical exhaustion lingering afterward, and that’s something I want to avoid. So I check weather reports and hope for the best, which is for them to be wrong…
