The Sage Connection

My life at 90 … degrees

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Wow! Another record bites the dust – six consecutive days of 90+ degrees of heat. My family is one of the lucky ones with air conditioning. That being said it was still hot – particularly for the very young and old.

I really dislike being housebound and feeling like I can’t go outside because of the heat index. We all know we go anywhere in the rain. Even the snow doesn’t keep me in the house, especially since a friend of mine introduced me to Yaktrax.

For those who may not know, Yaktrax is a spike-less lightweight ice and snow device that slips over your shoe and helps keep you upright on those occasions when our world turns white and cold.

Back to the heat – Shopping and errands had to be completed before 10 a.m. due to the touchy air conditioner in my car. There have been times when I had to wear gloves to use my steering wheel.

Gardens had to be watered daily, and I admit I hovered over the tomatoes and blueberry bushes, willing them to survive. So far so good.

Parents continued to work. I had the pleasure of the younger generation's company one day, pretty much by myself,  for a few hours. Our little ones were kept indoors during the hottest part of the day, which meant numerous hide-and-seek games, cards games, which I continually lost, and scavenger hunts for which I had to rack my brain to create. The babies were mostly left to their mothers, thank God.

Other seniors may have to learn a new language to keep their minds sharp. They probably don’t have a four-, eight- and 10-year-old and two one-year-olds to entertain.

And of course, they all have different levels of interest and attention spans. I quickly re-learned that kids are either busy, bored or hungry.

Especially hungry. When I was feeling my energy fading, food was my savior. I wasn’t baking, but microwave popcorn, lemonade and Hershey’s Kisses kept the older ones content for a short while, and watermelon, strawberries and mangos brought the littlest ones a smile…and a mess…on their faces, clothes, floor, etc.

Reading books required sitting still and none of the kids were very good at that. Movies were an on-and-off-again thing. Sometimes they were in the mood and other times they weren’t.

We also have three dogs who were the soul of patience with all the whooping and hollering last week. They either ignored or hid from the chaos.

So now we have a reprieve from the heat. I don’t know for how long, but the kids are playing outside again. The dogs have returned to their normal routine of hanging out in the kitchen, hoping something yummy drops from heaven. I have a little more time to myself.

It’s only been a couple of days but I think I’m having a little “kid” withdrawal. Funny how that happens.

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia.  Contact her at  kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below. 

Editor's Note: Kathleen is nowhere near 90 years of age. But our headline committee could not resist using this headline anyway. 

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