Baltimore came close to breaking ALL TIME RECORDS today for the heat - local experts put the official temp at 104 degrees Farenheit.
I made the executive decision that nothing productive could happen in weather like this. Oil change? Forget it. Laundry? For another day. Endless hours on the phone with phone company? Postponed indefinitely. We had to hit the water, and stay there.
Kicked the day off at 9.45 with swim team for the big kids, and survived that hot 50 minutes by splashing in the already-warm baby pool. But the minute the all-clear whistle blew for the big pool, Little Miss Two made a bee line for the deep end, and launched herself off the wall bellowing CANNONBALL!!!!!!!!
And so it went, hour after hour. In the pool, catching one small child, one medium child, one tall child, over and over and over. Mommy played Dolphin (swimming along the bottom with child hanging on for dear life around my neck.) Mommy played Tidal Wave (standing firm whilst child tries to drown her with 'giant' splash.) Mommy watched as the big kids hurled themselves from the diving board, attempting dives and flips and tricks inspired by the hallucinatory heat.
The only food that anyone wanted to eat was watermelon and fresh raspberries. Peanut butter sandwiches weigh heavy when you need to float on your back in the diving well. Temperatures above 100 require many doses of freezer pops - homemade AND purchased with our stash of Snack Bar Dimes.
The heat? Nigh on apocalyptic. The water? The balm which will stave off the End Times.
The meaning, the metaphorical significance of the elemental, primordial call of water? It'll have to wait 'til it cools off a bit.
12 comments:
Yeah. Well. It was 59 degrees this morning - and RAINING - when Sawyer had his first day of swim camp. One hour in an unheated pool. All the kids were shivering when they came out of the water. Sawyer didn't stop until he'd been home for about an hour. The crazy part? The coach gives out otter pops after the camp - and some kids actually ate them! But not mine. He already WAS a human otter pop.
Water must be the only way to keep cool... We have no humidity and the heat is mild. My daughter is in Quebec with heat warnings. She is in a student res, 4th floor with no air conditioning. Luckily for her she loves heat.
Dana
We'd been having temperatures in the upper 90s and around 100 the last week and a half...then today we barely hit 90 degrees. A nice breeze, still warm. Living in the fields here in NoCal I am grateful for this oddity.
What a lovely day. We are in mid winter here, although it was a bit late in arriving and our summers have been more watery than they should be the last 2 years or so. Haven't been swimming in ages is the point I want to make and everywhere on various blogs I am seeing posts on people going swimming. [sigh]
I feel your pain. It's Africa hot here in Houston. Doing anything outdoors other than soaking in a pool is just craziness. What a great action shot of your son.
"The meaning, the metaphorical significance of the elemental, primordial call of water?"
WOW is that a fantastic description of one of my favorite things on this planet--water. Like a salve.
In NJ, we're in the heat wave, too. Should be 100 again today. Ice pops, here we come.
The one drawback to life in the big city - no access to good pools. City pools are gross and way overcrowded, yesterday they filled to capacity by 10 AM. I spent my suburban childhood Summers immersed in water at our local community pool, which I used to walk to alone with friends at the age of 10. Different times, my friend. So can we come visit you?
It's unbearable. Ugh.
The humidity here in B'more makes the 100+ heat feel like a wall. My ability to focus, normally challenged, is completely shot!
Brilliant! Can't wait to watch the Nilsen show, water dancing etc.!
I played Dolphin the other day too. Though I don't have kids so it's a little different.
I played Dolphin the other day too. Though I don't have kids so it's a little different.
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