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Kid and Caboodle: Musings of a "Split-Shift" Mom  For those of you who don't know, Washington, D.C. is built on what originally was swampland. This means that it is very humid in the city most of the year. In the summer, it is also very hot; walking outside is like entering a sauna. Warm moisture coats your face, weighs down your hair, and steams up your glasses. Heat also makes me very sleepy; I can understand why Mexicans take naps in the middle of the day! A major challenge for me in the summertime, therefore, is to stay cool while finding inexpensive ways to entertain my 3-year-old son. Two days a week he goes to summer camp, but on the other five days of the week my husband, my mother and I are the ones who have to keep him occupied. The local nature center is a nice option because it is both air-conditioned and free, in addition to being educational. We also enjoy going to public pools, the library, museums and the mall. When we feel like staying closer to home, sometimes we enjoy washing the car (which involves getting sprayed with the hose frequently), watering the garden, or playing in a little plastic wading pool in the backyard. Of course, we can always stay inside in our air-conditioned house playing with toys and books or watching TV, but we tend to get cabin fever after a while. How do you stay cool in the summer? And if you have kids, how do you keep them occupied? |
