heatwave.

it is scorching. suffocatingly hot. the kind of hot that sucks every ounce of energy straight from your body and leaves you feeling like a dusty tumbleweed. we just cannot seem to get a break from the hundred degree temperatures.

i have never wished so earnestly for rain. our garden is brittle. leaves once green are now crumbly and brown and our willow tree is drooping from exhaustion. we're staying relatively cool [inside] with the help of a few box fans to supplement the air conditioning, but yesterday i actually put on a bathing suit and hopped into the bathtub with Eli for an afternoon swim. he loved splashing around and watching the rubber duckies float by. i got the feeling even they were thankful for a plunge.

oh, if only we could all get away with wearing nothing but a diaper, how much more bearable August would be.

but since i can't, a few things that are helping me make it through the days:

-drive-thru iced coffees and french music on the car stereo

-afternoon naps under handkerchief sheets

-a chicken curry recipe cooled with coconut milk

-homemade strawberry ice cream and opening the freezer to get another scoop


-bare feet on kitchen tile

-rocking Eli on a soft chair in a darkened nursery (blinds closed, curtains drawn) and concentrating on his tiny breaths as he drifts off to sleep

-letting wet hair air-dry

-early evening family drives around town. [for no reason.]

-Shiner Hefeweizen in a frosty mug with a slice of lemon (i'm not really a beer drinker, but lately an after-dinner brew with Jeremy is pretty tasty)

-a clawfoot tub, a few plastic toys, several gallons of lukewarm water, and one happy baby with droplets on his eyelashes