It was 105° outside when I finally started loading the kids into the car. The humidity was high as well. To say it was miserable out would be an understatement, but political promises must be kept. Today we committed to driving people around to drop off literature. We were supposed to be there by one, but as usual, we were running late. The printer was the culprit of the day. It gave me all kinds of grief, and then punished me further by very slowly spitting out the information once it decided to work. I swear I aged five years waiting for those 14 pages to emerge. By the time we were ready to go, the kids had already removed their shoes, two had removed their shirts, and puppies needed to go out again. I let the dogs out and got them into the kennel, found all the shoes and shirts, reassembled the kids, and started herding them all out to the van. After I finally got everyone buckled in, we headed out. It was then I realized I was out of gas. Figures.
Today’s temperature map. Their forecast was right on.
By the time we got to the meeting point, most people had already headed out, so the campaign manager grabbed some literature and jumped into my van. We headed towards the neighborhood we were going to work that day, but we made a stop at the gas station first. While the van was filling up, I ran in and got some ice and bottled water. At least I had remembered to pack snacks, sippy cups, diapers, wipes, and a cooler. I filled the cooler with the ice and water and we left. I should have used that time for a bathroom break for the kids, but oh well. I am good at learning lessons the hard way.
When we finally got to our destination point, the Campaign manager and I would jump out of the van, hit a few houses and get back into the quasi-air-conditioned van. Because it was so hot, the air conditioner was having a hard time keeping up. The kids were being very good. They were playing with some toys, chatting away, and asking a lot of questions. Eventually, they asked if they could help. We decided that would work out just fine, so I would take one kid at a time with me. They would take turns every two houses. It was great actually. When people would come to the door, the people would first look at me kind of skeptically, but then they would see the kids and they would offer a smile, making the situation much nicer for all involved. We would give our spiel, hand them the literature, and move on. Occasionally we got to have fun and interesting conversations with people, and I loved that part. I am quite the talker, so go ahead and engage me, I dare ya! Many of the people loved the fact that the kids were helping out and getting involved. I was glad to see others saw the value in the exercise as well. No matter what side of the aisle you are on, getting the kids involved in the process is always a good thing. Keep them educated and informed.
Jason handing out literature. He was very professional. All the kids made me proud.
Derek was a good helper too. The only problem with him was that, somewhere between the house and the car, his shoes disappeared. I know I put them on him twice, but as he scrambled out of the car the first time to help me out, he was barefoot, and his shoes were nowhere to be seen. The extreme heat made the pavement so hot, he would leap about in pain and agony until he found some grass, and then he would take off towards the house. Only Derek. One time, he got out of the car, yelped in pain, and wrapped his little arms around my leg, placing his little feet on my shoe. I ended up walking up to the house with a toddler firmly attached to my foot. It was a little awkward, but he untangled himself at the porch and all became normal again.
By the end of the day, we had covered a large area and gone to many houses. The temperature had risen to 107°. I don’t think I had ever been in such heat before, but we survived! Jason had to go to the bathroom so bad, his eyeballs were floating. We had not made one stop the whole day. We stopped and went to the bathroom and got candy on the way home as a way to thank them for their help. Kids are cheap. We were hot, sweaty, tired, and hungry by the time we got home. The kids all deposited their little butts onto the chair or couch and immediately turned on cartoons and then all but passed out. They looked like three zombies. Ashley had slept through a good portion of the afternoon, so she was all geared up and got into everything. She dumped toilet water on the pups, tried feeding them by throwing dog food at them and all over the floor, emptied out the feminine products in the bathroom…again, and climbed onto the computer desk and tried playing with the mouse and keyboard with a pencil. She was driving me nuts. I eventually got dinner on the table and we completed our evening, but I don’t think any of us ever fully cooled down. The heat just stayed with us. It was really hot. We are going to have a cooling trend this week, though. It will only be about 95°. Ahhhhhhhhh……
Heat Wave June-July 2012
- Day 1, June 27: 102°
- Day 2, June 28: 105°
- Day 3, June 29: 102°
- Day 4, June 30: 101°
- Day 5, July 1: 99°
- Day 6, July 2: 97°
- Day 7, Today: 100°
- Day 8, Wednesday: 102°
- Day 9, Thursday: 102°
- Day 10, Friday: 104°
- Day 11, Saturday: Near 107°
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