Thoughts in the midst of a heat wave

1. I saw the funniest headline in the newspaper the other day: Trucker charged with practising dentistry while driving. Turns out that the semi being carelessly driven down the highway was operated by a trucker with a toothache. In an attempt to remedy the situation he had tied a string to his tooth and attached the other end to the outside of his truck. In his words, "I was waiting for that one big bump to do the job." Apparently, his plan worked, although the resulting highway fine may have been equal to what he would have paid the dentist.

2. It's officially hot, hot, hot in our part of the world. We are on the fifth (?) day of a heat wave that is lasting upward of a week. Temperatures today are around 35 degrees before the humidex: over 40 degrees with humidity. Fortunately, swimming lessons started on Monday so we will be at the beach between 10:30 and noon, five days a week for the next six weeks. I imagine that my feet will spend their time dangling off the dock and cooling in the lake. This is the first pregnancy that I have ever spent my third trimester in the dead-heat of the summer. My daily walks have moved from pre-supper to pre-7am and the dog and I are both dragging as we make it up the last hill toward home. I spend my time praying that we don't run into any squirrels or chipmunks so that a sudden lunge from the dog doesn't send me hurtling to the ground. So far, we have been OK.

3. Heat also means hay; so, Dave has been at the farm sweating it out on the back of the tractor hoisting 60-pound square bales. Believe it or not, he loves such back-breaking work and relishes the sheer physical exertion. Jacob is completely uninterested by farm work and says things like, "I'd rather be having an adventure in the forest." Benjamin, on the other hand, gladly spends his day in the cab of the tractor, on a seat next to his grandfather, wordlessly taking in the cutting, raking and baling. In fact, his aunt took him and Jacob swimming while hay was in progress and he angrily told me afterward: "Humph. Why did I have to go swimming? I wanted to stay in the field. Humph. Swimming! Sheesh!" I imagine four-year-old Dave said much the same thing.

3. One of the advantages of hay is that Dave always takes a few of the children with him leaving me with a lighter load and some more one-on-one time. All of Sunday afternoon and evening I found myself alone in our house except for Joseph. Having one child is really a novel experience for me. As you might recall I started motherhood with twins and, thus, have had very little time to be mom to just one. In fact, this was the first time in Joseph's 2.75 years that I have ever spent so much time with him alone. (As I write this I can't help but think that it sounds terribly unjust to our children but life is what it is and I mustn't apologise.) However, I have to admit that the thought of only one child was actually slightly daunting at first: what would I do with him? with whom would he play? Pleasantly, the afternoon and evening were some of the most delightful hours I have had in a while. I discovered that little Joseph (described yesterday at church as being a handful) isn't so much of a handful after all. Our youngest child (ex-utero) was full of giggles, complex thoughts expressed in almost-three-year-old talk, kisses, hugs and just plain fun. For the first time in a while I simply sat and watched him and we are both the better for it. We played on the swings, ate hamburgers together, read books, went to the beach and finished the day off with a trip to the ice-cream store where he peed on the sidewalk. I enjoyed it all and hope to do it again soon with each of the children. We have promised them that, before the baby comes, each of them can have a full day with mom in which the two of us do something special together and just spend time with one another. It is so easy to lose sight of these little individuals within the bustle of family life and I am so very thankful that, every once in a while, there are snippets of time where I can gaze on just one child as I did when he or she was first born.

4. And, in the latest bit of news, my blood pressure was slightly elevated at my last pre-natal appointment. My doctor ordered me to have two readings taken per week for the next two weeks. My general practitioner (who is also my obstetrician) is over an hour away; so, I have to go to the hospital emergency room to get those BP readings done. In our world of socialised medicare such a trip is no easy feat and I seem to be caught in a web of red tape. For now, I have resorted to a friend's at-home monitor in conjunction with another friend who is a nurse practitioner. So far the BP readings taken at home have averaged a low 100/60. As my nurse practitioner friend said: "Looks like someone has white-coat syndrome."