Hot times - 10 ways to cool off in the heat of the summer

Here in Kansas City it's hot. Really hot. Close to 100F during the day and not much below 80 at night. My sweetie loves it, he is an efficient sweater (both kinds - he sweats well in the heat and is cozy in the cold) but I am not. I just turn red and get uncomfortable.

In an effort to stay cool I've come up with some creative ways to tone down the heat. Use these at your own risk, some are untested.

10. Eat more fruit. Summer is the season for fruit, so enjoy those watermelons, peaches, nectarines, plums and more while you can. Your body will appreciate the liquid, your mouth the taste and your lover the site of that juice running off your chin.

9. After you've eaten it, wear it. China is in the midst of a terrific heat wave and some parents are coming up with unusual ways to cool their kids down. I think a watermelon helmet is pretty damned exciting.

8. Use new words. Hot? Try tropical. Humid? How about sultry. Sweaty? Maybe you're delightfully damp instead.

7. Pretend you're on vacation. I bet many of you paid good money to go someplace close to this hot. Put on a bathing suit, stick your feet in a bucket and listen to some Calypso music. Maybe have a drink with an umbrella in it.

6. Explore nudism. Why wear clothing in the house? Just be careful if you sit on something smooth, the butt pull when you stand up can be uncomfortable. And if your neighbors complain just tell them it's value added - they probably download stuff like this when no one's looking.

5. Put on a big floppy hat, enormous sunglasses and carry a water bottle. Pretend you're avoiding the paparazzi. Deny all requests for autographs. Pretend your fan is a hair fan for your photo shoot.

4. Consider sweating a mini-ecosystem. You are no longer a body, but the water cycle. You drink water, sweat it out like rain and drink more. Think of all the possibilities for life you are creating.

3. Tell winter stories, remember the need for cocoa and crackling fires. Evoke the chill in your imagination and then welcome the heat.

2. Experiment with winter sports in the summer. Can you ski on grass? What about snow-shoeing on sand? Give it a shot!

1. Stop whining and enjoy it. In a few months you'll be complaining about the cold and wishing it was summer again. Use this as a moment for mindful living in the present. And anyway, it could be worse. Given climate change, next year it probably will be.

(c)2013 Laura S. Packer