Hot Summer Nights

We finally got the hot summer days we’ve been waiting for.  I remind myself of this as I lie in bed at night with my sheet kicked off and the fan on full blast.

But the discomfort of hot summer nights is worth it because of all the things we can do on hot summer days that we can’t do on cold winter days.  Right?

I remember the care-free summer days of childhood.  After the morning work of weeding the garden (I was responsible for a 20-foot row of beans when I was five), there was plenty of time for playing in “Pine Needle Palace” where mud pies were served on rhubarb leaves and “Cops and Robbers” in the woods with walkie-talkies.  In the evenings there were trips to the lake or the creek to wash away the dust and sweat of the day.

I try to help my children have happy summer days like I did.  The younger ones I can hardly keep inside the house, but the suggestion to “go outside and play” is usually met with moans and groans from the older ones.

What happened?  When did “go outside and play” become a punishment instead of a treat?  Is it age?  Or apathy?

If all we want to do is watch Netflix and play on our iPads, we might as well have winter all year long.  So I’ll send my kids out and you send yours out and maybe they’ll find each other and learn what summer’s all about.

Lost Laundry

A week before Christmas I sent my best jeans to the laundry.  This means I carried them downstairs and put them in the blacks-and-blues pile to await washing.  A week later I noticed they hadn’t yet returned to my closet.

I asked the child on laundry duty that day if she’d mistakenly sorted my jeans into someone else’s pile.  She said no.

So I scoured my closet to make sure they hadn’t fallen among the boxes of wrapping paper and presents hiding there (original place to hide gifts, I know).  No luck.

Now, losing small items in the laundry, like socks, is a normal occurrence.  I simply treat the remaining sock as if its partner is there, knowing that the rogue sock will turn up eventually (usually).  Sometimes it takes awhile, often showing up under a bed or stuck inside another item of clothing.

But pants?  I’m no waif.  We’re talking size 14 women’s jeans here.  There’s no way they were sucked into the pipes or blown out the dryer vent or static-clung to the inside of a sleeve.

I guess stranger things have happened, though.  Like random shoes on the side of the highway.  How does someone lose a shoe on the side of a highway?  Were they sleeping with one leg hanging out the window?  I don’t know.

Anyway, back to the jeans.  I knew they had to be in the house somewhere – unless there really is some supernatural, clothes-snatching phenomenon at work – so I checked my daughter’s room and found them in a pile of clean laundry still waiting to be put away.  Mystery solved.  And it only took me two weeks.

I’m thankful that my children help with laundry.  Now it’s time to teach them how to find things.  And put stuff away.  Wish me luck with that.

Feverishly Fighting the Flu

Flu season is upon us.  I know because a feverish, coughing preschooler climbed into bed with me last night.

Why do fevers get such a bad rap?  I find them helpful – telling me that my child isn’t faking, keeping her in bed where she belongs, and revealing that her immune system is fighting the bug.

It’s the coughing I can’t stand.  Coughing equals sleepless nights, crying, sometimes vomiting, and spreading germs.  Yuck!

The company I worked for in Calgary recognized employees who had perfect attendance.  One woman received the award repeatedly.  This was the same woman who came to work when she was ill, germs oozing from every pore.  Thankfully, corporate eventually cancelled the award and encouraged employees to stay home when unwell.

Five things contribute to me getting sick:  1) Direct contact with germs, 2) Unhealthy eating, 3) Excess stress, 4) Inadequate rest, 5) Getting chilled.  If I have any combination of at least three of these, I’ll get sick.

As a mother of young children who cough (and sneeze and breathe) indiscriminately, it’s difficult to always get enough rest and avoid direct contact with germs.  So, I have to try extra hard in the other areas, like limiting fast food and excess sugar, pacing myself to avoid stress, taking power naps when needed, and dressing warmly when I go out.

We can help our families and communities stay well by washing hands properly (it’s alarming how many don’t do this!), using antibacterial wipes on busy surfaces (like banisters, remotes, and doorknobs), and coughing or sneezing into tissues or elbows.

And for coughing out loud, take a sick day if you need one!