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?

“My city, my city, childhood, that’s right:” how Macklemore’s lyrics are making me feel the love

I’ve been listening to a lot of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis lately. There’s just something about the lyrics of a hometown boy who’s gone platinum without the backing of any major record label. It feels so…Seattle. So Seattle. I know that everyone feels some sort of nostalgia for their hometown, but there’s something magical about this city…the rugged individualism of a pioneer spirit that still exists in this Emerald City. It’s really that Emerald City…elusive, magical, buildings that fade into trees and trees that fade into buildings.

Maybe it’s because we’re relatively the same age, but when Macklemore sings about the Mariners, in My Oh My, I get choked up. While not an overwhelming baseball fan, I remember that year. I remember later years when I sat with my grandma and chewed Double Bubble and watched the M’s play.

My oh My another victory yes, my city my city.
Childhood my life watchin’ Griffey right under those lights

In the sunshine months the city comes alive, with natives and transplants and visitors. The past few days I’ve been listening to Macklemore and driving around the city with Potamus looking for watering holes to splash in. The lyrics “My city, my city, childhood that’s right,” go through my head on repeat.

Beneath the Space Needle, in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, and a stone’s throw from the Puget Sound. I have summer memories of the Pacific Science Center and eating lunch by the fountain. Today we splashed in the fountain ourselves and I felt a part of something bigger. A connection to MY PEOPLE here. The quirky PacNwer’s who make their home in the city or carry it in their hearts when they’re far away. There’s something about this place that changes us.

Every time somebody steps out on the road
They bring a little Northwest soul with them, amen

My city.
My childhood.
Potamus’s city.
His childhood.

It’s Good Medicine that Chief Sealth would of been proud of
This is our city, town pride, heart, blood, sweat, tears, I-5, North, South side, vibe, live, ride down these city blocks
And never will be stopped

Pool Hack…getting through record breaking temperatures!

summer in the city? It’s only May!

Yesterday Seattle beat it’s former heat record by 7 degrees, leaving the city both loving and loathing the 86 degree sunshine. If this isn’t a sign of global warming, I’m not sure what is…AND, I’m nervous for the notorious summer week of above 90 degree days in houses with no air conditioning. One year it was so miserable that we went and stayed with Boof’s parents (who do have air-conditioning), because I was threatening (slightly) divorce.

I didn’t have time on my way home from work to stop by a store and get one of those obnoxiously overpriced and cumberson wading pools that every drugstore is selling (though, after yesterday, they’re probably sold out), so, instead, I used a pool-hack that we used camping as kids: a plastic bin with a garden hose and an assortment of measuring cups and lids as flotation objects.

He was basically in heaven. He was only grumpy when I wasn’t helping him get in the tub fast enough! After thirty minutes of fun he was too cold (little shivers), so we went inside, warmed up (took about thirty seconds) ate some dinner and then he was back at it!

There was just something so purely childlike and magical about his exploration of the garden hose and using the measuring cups to sprinkle water on himself and trying to pour from one bucket to the other.

And, in typical fickle Seattle fashion, the weather this morning is cold, cloudy and slightly misty. Maybe my fears of a hot, dry, miserable summer are unfounded. So at least we grabbed the sunny day by the horns and made the most of it!

Easter weekend

Seattle sunshine + Easter egg hunts + church + family + getting dressed up in our finest + good food + good news + okay sleep = great weekend. Hope you all had a Happy Easter weekend!

 

Seattle Faux Spring

It was simultaneously a gorgeous day in Seattle, and a snowy one. Parts of the city were closed (like schools) because of snow, while where I was at it was gorgeously sunny! I was able to take a sweet hike through the arboretum with a friend visiting from San Francisco. We got side-tracked and ended up on a detour that took us down a steep muddy hill, which was good for laughs!

The rest of the day I spent gardening with Potamus in our yard. He was enjoying roaming around in his “camo” jammies, while I attacked the out-of-control laurel hedge! While I know that days are going to be more filled with rain than sun in the next few weeks, it was pretty nice to have the sun burst through!