I live in Texas. To make it worse, I live in one of the hottest zones in Texas. California's Death Valley has got nothing on Texas heat. Where I'm at, even if you wake up at 6:30 a.m., the temperature is already close to mid 90's in the summer time. In fact, it's a nice cool day if it only gets to 91 or 92 degrees that day.

Now for those with air conditioning, it's no big deal. We learn to adjust. We run our errands early in the day or late in the evening. We learn that we can help it cool off just a bit faster by watering our gardens at a certain time each day. We gave up on green lawns a very long time ago but we still try for good gardens. We learn that during the hottest part of the day when even the best of air conditioners can't handle it, we can set up a fan to help things along a bit. And we learn to keep a spray bottle filled with water near us at all times for those necessary quick cool downs if we have to go outside or open a door or whatever.

Yes, we adjust quite well as long as we have an air conditioner. You never know just how much you take yours for granted though until you get up at 7:30, and take a dog for a mile long walk. You arrive home and it's hotter inside than it is outside and you suddenly realize, "crap! The ac is broken!"

That was my day today. I woke up early to take Moby for her morning walk. I came inside and it was hotter in than it was out and I was not very happy. I checked the thermostat and it said the ac was to be on, but it wasn't. I could feel the fan blowing but no cool air. Nope. It was just a nice wave after wave of hotness coming through.

Now thankfully, I had received the unexpected blessing of a time served bonus for work. In fact, I was so shocked to see it, I had to call payroll to let them know they over paid me. They let me know it was a bonus and I was over joyed. I could purchase groceries, take care of Moby's vet care, buy a webcam and pay back Honey's parents all in one go.

Instead, I got to pay for the ac repair. Thankfully, it wasn't too much. Of course, it was already so hot in here by 10 a.m. when it was repaired, that it didn't start cooling off in the house until the sun set. Do you know how exhausting "hot" is? Even the animals all found nice dark corners to hide in until it started to cool off again.

When you're this hot, even the slightest movement only makes you hotter. When you're this hot, fanning yourself only makes the hot air around you circulate faster like you're in a convection oven. And yet, even just sitting still, you know how a chicken feels when it's on a rotisserie.

The sun has set and the ac has finally gotten the house cooled down to less than 85 degrees. It should be able to keep up with it for the most part now. The reminder though, is always appreciated. There was a time when we didn't even have a window unit, or even a fan. We had to spend the hottest part of the days at the local Wal Mart just so that Pie wouldn't have breathing problems when she was an infant.

Sometimes, the best unexpected blessings are the ones that show you where you came from and how easily you can be back there again. It is always humbling to be reminded of the times that weren't so good. Know what I mean? We've all had hard times in our lives and if we haven't yet had them, we will in the future. If we forget our struggles than we don't appreciate what we have now and we don't continue to work towards what we have now.We become... spoiled.

So today, we sat in the hot of the house, and I told Pie stories of when she was an infant. I told her stories of sitting in the river, of sitting in Wal Mart, and of having a constant spray of water on the windows to help keep things cool. I took the time to remind her that while it may seem like we have it easy now, we can easily lose it all in the blink of an eye.

I don't know if she took the message to heart, but I did. I am grateful for the unexpected blessing of the AC going out today. Tomorrow, I will work even harder to ensure that I am able to repair it, or anything else that should go out unexpectedly.