Dear Graham,
This event happened June 3, 2026. I want to share it with you now to remind you that sometimes challenges may arise in your life, and you will overcome them. Blessings to you from CC.
Yesterday and last night something happened that threw me completely off balance.
Our neighbors lost their electricity, and they had workmen come to the townhouse complex’s electrical panel to try to fix the problem. Our electricity had been working perfectly, but when the workmen finished, our 220-volt power went out, which for us meant no air conditioning.
We have just begun the rainy season in Panama, and although it is technically cooler than the dry season, the humidity is much higher. The humidity affects my body temperature and, at times, makes me feel as though I am suffocating. It’s as if the inside of my body fills with heat and begins to boil, radiating outward through my skin. My underarms become damp, the backs of my legs sweat, and tiny beads of moisture gather on my upper lip. I don’t like it. And I especially didn’t like that I couldn’t turn on the air conditioner to combat the heavy, humid air filling the room.
During the rainy season, we have been told not to open the windows or doors after about 4:30 in the afternoon to avoid insects from flying inside. So, the bedroom had been sealed up for hours with no air conditioning and no fresh air. We have two powerful, tall, cylindrical fans on either side of our bed that gently sweep back and forth, circulating whatever cool air they can. They helped a great deal. I dampened two face cloths, placing one across my forehead and the other behind my neck. Between the wet cloths and the fans, my body slowly cooled, and I drifted into a deep sleep.
Then, around 11:30 that night, I suddenly awoke to a silent, dark, airless room.
For a moment I felt as though I were suffocating. My body was hot, the air was completely still, and the silence felt almost oppressive. I sat straight up in panic. When I got out of bed, I noticed the fans had stopped. I assumed the electricity had gone off again. I wasn’t sure whether the power had returned, but when I switched the fans back on, they started immediately. That calmed me a little, but my mind had already begun spinning stories. What if the air conditioning never got fixed? What if the electricity kept failing? What if I had to endure the relentless, smothering tropical heat of Panama indefinitely?
Then the panic really took hold.
All I could think was that I was going to get on a plane and fly home.
The irony was that I had just read Colorado was expecting fifteen inches of snow. The canyon to and from Boulder was closed, and it was almost certain that electricity was out throughout the mountains. My former Colorado home was probably without power as well, which meant no heat, no water, and no flushing toilets. In Colorado I would be freezing; here in Panama I was sweltering.
It suddenly occurred to me that there really was nowhere to run. Every place has its own hardships. I was better off simply laying my head back on the pillow, closing my eyes, and trusting sleep to carry me through the night.
When I woke the next morning, our neighbors told us the air conditioning was working again. We hadn’t even tried ours yet, but when we turned it on, it clicked to life and almost immediately filled the bedroom with cool, dry air that tamed the humidity. I could feel my whole body begin to relax. I took a shower, put on my swimsuit, and drove to my water aerobics class in PedasÃ.
I immersed myself in the cool water of the infinity pool and moved to the music, stretching my arms and legs through an hour of exercise. I looked up at the blue sky, watched the sunlight breaking through the clouds, and once again felt happy, peaceful, and free here in PedasÃ.
With love,
CC
