Sweltering

It's hot in Minneapolis today. Really hot. And humid. It's so muggy that it takes your breath away. It's bad enough being hot. Add three hot, sweaty children to the mix and this weather becomes a new kind of hell on earth.

This afternoon, after talking to over 140 people with heat-induced crankiness in the course of a six-hour shift at work, I came home exhausted. There is nothing enjoyable about telling a cantankerous 70-year-old man that I have no one to come fix his air conditioner until Wednesday. Needless to say, I was a bit cranky myself by the time I got home. I was able to enjoy the sweet air conditioning at home for all of five minutes before having to pile Sophie and Nicky into the hellishly hot minivan to pick Lucas up from school. It is amazing to me how long it takes the air conditioning to actually cool that behemoth of a vehicle. As we were nearing Lucas' school, I looked in the rearview mirror to find that Nicky was falling asleep. Not good. I could not let him fall asleep. If he fell asleep, I would either have to carry him into Lucas' school or leave him in the car. I do not like leaving the twins in the car, but I have been known to do it on occasion when they have fallen asleep and I am able to get a parking spot right in front of the school door. I can stand at the door and wait for Lucas while still keeping an eye on the van. Today, of course, I had no such luck. I had to park several car-lengths down the street. I could not leave little Nicky strapped in his carseat with the car running. That would have been an open invitation to any would-be kidnappers or potential committers of grand theft auto (though they would only have to drive my van around the block to realize there is nothing "grand" about it). Neither could I leave him in the van with the ignition turned off. It is 90+ degrees outside today and the humidity level feels like it's at least 99%. I am afraid even a quick trip into the school to pick up Lucas may have resulted in poor little Nicky boiling like an egg. So I did what any good mother would do...I feverishly tried to keep him awake until we arrived at school. However, no amount of tickling, loud off-key singing, or bribing his sister to smack him would work. The boy was completely comatose by the time I pulled up in front of Lucas' school. I had no choice...I had to carry him in.

I gingerly unhooked him from his carseat and gently wrapped his skinny little legs around my hip. At least he only weighs thirty pounds. I was unable to pry his precious blankie from his hand, so that fluffy, hot, stinky wad of yarn came with us. Nicky laid his head on my shoulder and his blankie in my face and we proceeded to walk into the school. By the time we got in the building, I had sweat dripping down my forehead. My glasses were fogging up. My polyester shirt, which does NOT breath, was stuck to my back. It was stifling, to say the least. Nicky's sweaty, sticky little blonde head was pressed up against my neck. As we stood in the hallway waiting for Lucas, I tried sitting Nicholas down so I could momentarily breath. As I bent over to put him down, he clutched my neck and whispered, "No momma. I love you." Apparently, I am a sucker for a sweaty blonde because I picked him back up and snuggled him closely. I held him tightly and breathed in the sweet smell of baby perspiration. I was struck by the unexpected allure of a sweltering, sticky, pink-cheeked, little angel. It may not sound very enticing...but standing there in that school hallway with sweat dripping down my face, I was happy. All of the crankiness melted away as I kissed that wet little head. My baby boy.