Seattle Summer & Divorce Rates

Every year I am shocked by the intensity of our heat waves. I feel that it’s early this year, usually happening later in July, so I hope that it doesn’t happen twice. It’s usually this five or so day stretch with temperatures heading into the 90’s and beyond. While the rest of the country swelters under MUCH HOTTER temperatures, there is something sinister about our heat, here.  Or maybe it’s the lack of AC in any of the houses, so we’re all forced to deal with skyrocketing temperatures…in our bedrooms.

To beat the heat during the day, I’ve been spending time with a good friend and her two sons. And for all my uncertainty about being a mom, let alone a good mom, there is something so refreshingly nostalgic about watching my kid run in the sprinkler and eat blue otter pops. And we sit in the grass sunning ourselves, drinking beer and watching the two kiddos splash in the kiddie pool. If only I could sleep in the kiddie pool, that would be cool enough!

Potamus is definitely weaning. He’s not happy about it, and neither am I (in some respects), and napping and sleeping is super hard for all of us. It’s taking about two hours to put him down at night, and the other night, after nursing, he fell asleep drinking from his water bottle…after wiggling and playing tent and wanting to dive off the bed to start playing with legos. It’s a challenge to my patience, to say the least, and it’s worse because I’m sweaty and wish that he could just nurse to sleep like when he was a wee baby. I feel like my milk is drying up and he’s frustrated that my boobies aren’t working like they used to. But the night he fell asleep drinking water he slept really well, so I think that we’re in this place of transition and both aren’t wanting it to end, but I think it’ll actually help. Sigh, I’m so torn.

There have been a few years where Boof and I head over to his parent’s house to sleep for a few days to save our sanity. They have air conditioning plus all the bedrooms are in the basement, so it’s almost TOO cold over there. But we’re actually heading on up to a local island to stay in some cabins for a few days with my parents. While it’s not going to be cool, hopefully it’ll be cooler by the water. In India when it was hot I slept with wet woolen socks and a wet dupatta pulled up to my chin. Not sure Boof would want me to re-create that scene in our bedroom now!

How do you beat the heat? Tried and true tricks?

Boundaries

As a rather intimidating person, (my sister says I have the ability to change the temp of a room by walking in), I was shocked in the change of the general public in relating to me while I was pregnant. Normally my height, size, and general energy that I put out, left people leaving me alone while out and about. Somehow my pregnant belly was seen by these same people as an invitation to talk to me, ask me personal questions like the gender of the little womb-traveller, or the date when I would be pushing this being out of my vagina. Yeah, I mostly was annoyed by the lack of boundaries that happened while pregnant, but nothing prepared me for the even thinner boundary between me and the public by having Potamus with me.

So I braved a trip to Target on my way to baby group. I was running in for cold medicine and a birthday gift for my 8 year old half-sister. 10 minute trip, tops. With cold meds in hand (er…cart) I loomed over to the toy aisle, when BAM, Potamus decides that he no longer wants to be shopping and begins to cry. We’re not talking a little fussy wahwah, but a full blown screaming fit, with flailing arms, red face and tears streaming down his miniature face. Cheap cold meds weren’t worth standing in a long line, so I headed toward the door.

And that’s when a grumpy woman in sweats came up to me and said “oh, I love the little new baby cry”. Really lady? You think THIS is the time to COO over my baby, now that I am clearly rushing to get out of the store? She then proceeded to FOLLOW me toward the door asking 372 questions about Potamus (gender, age, etc). Seriously. She wanted to know whether the screaming human in my shopping cart had a pens or a vagina. If I wasn’t trying to compose myself and get the hell out of there without ruining the rest of the shopper’s morning, I could have probably thought of a witty/snarky remark to put her in her place, making her think twice about personal boundaries, but instead I just lifted his car seat out of the cart and carried it out the door, with her standing next to the candy/gum staring at me.

Weirdest experience ever.