My Magic Elixir, Fresh Air

The climate in Boquete makes my spirit soar. It has been a mystery to me why.  I know, it is beautiful here, and that is important, but there is more to it.  

I got some insight when Yella showed me a picture from last Thanksgiving in Colorado at our house.  The picture was of Daniel out on our deck.  He was bundled up in a coat and hat.  A couple of inches of snow were on the ground.  The mountains loomed large in the background.

Our opposite responses to this picture tells quite a tale.

Yella said, "Oh look , there's our son and my favorite view of the most gorgeous mountains in the world!"

I said, "Oh, there's our son out in the biting, frigid, bitter cold and, ya, the mountains are beautiful, but so what, in that miserable cold!"

So I thought, why do I love it here and she loves it in Colorado.

After musing for a while, I realized, for me, it's fresh air!  I love fresh air.

You might say, "what, there's not fresh air in that picture?"  Yes there is, but you have to freeze your ass off to get any of it.  And, the windows are closed 9 months of year because it's so cold, and the air in the house is stale.

More accurately, I love warm, fresh air.

Colorado is great from June 15th till September 15th.  Why?  We have the windows open every day with all that wonderful fresh air, flowing through the house.  You can leave the house just with what you have on, no bundling up.  I could hike or sit outside at a restaurant during those days.  Wonderful!

Here in Boquete, every day the windows (and, many times the walls) are open.  Fresh air everywhere.

One of the things I like to do most is eat in a restaurant that is open.  There is a freedom to it that I love.  And, you can go out without a coat most days and bask in the sun...warm, fresh, wonderful.

Now for some arm chair psychology. 

When I was a kid, school sucked.  You had to sit still, inside, and be restricted for 6 to 7 hours a day.  And an adult was always looking over you shoulder, judging you, reprimanding you.  No freedom.  No fun.

But summer was a blast!  Freedom to roam, run free, play and away from the critical eye of the damn adults.

You don't have to be a genius to see the correlation from summer to warm, fresh air.  I think I may have associated the good life with summer.

So, there you have it.  I love fresh air.

And Yella likes to be bundled up and be cozy in side a warm house.

Houston, we have a problem!