Whole House Fan, how I miss you!

My family stayed out in the front yard for a moment or two this evening after FHE to say goodnight to my parents and get the last bit (well, the last allowed for the night) of energy out before bed. It was a warm, very warm 95 degrees today but we were pleased to feel the nice cool breeze tonight as a slight cooling trend will allow those hot summer temps to get back into the 80s which they totally skipped right over this weekend. It was the kiss of summer on my checks as the breeze swirled lightly around that always brings back fun summer memories as a teenager. Never anything specific, just the overall feeling of youth and freedom that so many summer memories stem from.

But the night was growing near and the kids need to get to bed so in we went. I promptly opened the house to welcome in the much cooler air, and now, 90 minutes later I am wishing I could drag my computer outside so I could again enjoy the temperature. See, even with all our windows open the airflow in our house is lacking. It is probably a good 10 degrees at least warmer in the house than in is outside. And unless you are sitting in front of one of the windows, you would have no idea that there was such a wonderful breeze outside. So as I sit at my computer, trying to get some work done, I am roasting. This brings back another summer memory I wish I could capture again so badly right now, although I never realized at the time how much I really appreciated it. My parent had a whole house fan put into their house many years ago, and it always did the trick. I just didn't appreciate the true benefit of the fan and I only like the amount of noise it created.

I will admit, I took advantage of that wonderful house fan in my youth. See the fan was in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. When on, it created enough noise that it was more difficult to hear what was going on in the front of the house if you were in the back. So there might have been a time or two, that as I left for the evening to hang out with friends, I might have moved the timer of the fan to make sure it continued running, at least 30 minutes after curfew. Not that I even needed that buffer of time, or that I was ever, ever late getting home at the set time given to me by my wonderful, loving parents, but knowing that if there was ever a time that I needed just an extra minute or two... opening that front door would be muffled by the sound of the glorious house fan. It was wonderful! I mean to say the thought was wonderful, not the actual action of being late, which remember, I never, ever was. And if by chance I was late, it would have been for saintly reasons like a friend desperately needed a shoulder to cry on, and I left as soon as possible. Or I hit every single red light on the way home and didn't want to speed which might possibly endanger my life, or others. Or there was a dog wondering the streets late at night and several cars had to swerve not to hit it, so of course I stopped and tried to help the little dog find it's home. But we are getting way off the subject.....

So anyway, I sit here tonight longing for the true use of a house fan, so I can suck that breeze right into my home and cool everything down quickly and enjoy this beautiful summer night. To bad so many things go unappreciated for their true benefit until it is too late. So until I get a whole house fan of my own, here's to the many years of wonderful evening of cool summer breezes inside and out and the fun memories of the past and a future full of new adventure.