82 degrees

This was composed on September 16 but I have been plagued by fonts and leading that simply will not behave. Here goes nothing.

It rained today. Really. We were not about to squander our good fortune so my mom and I went to the playground and enjoyed the cool 82-degree afternoon that turned to evening and then to night. We stayed until they were about the slam the park gates shut. (My dad was working at the ACL festival tonight so he has no idea that my mom broke her own semi-strict rules about dinner at 6:45, followed by bath, then reading, and bed. I didn't even get home until after 8:00 and my veggie burger wasn't ready until 8:30 and I would have eaten five of them.)

While 82 degrees seemed almost unbearably hot in April, it felt chilly today. It was 22 degrees cooler than yesterday. At the park, I took my mom on yet another miles-long journey. I was overjoyed and laughed and hollered giddy up as I ran along the path that was sometimes a road, sometimes train tracks, and other times just a path. You cannot even imagine on how many 105 degree days we have driven past that playground and not stopped because it was too hot. No one has been to the park for months.

Now refer back to my April 2 post when I wrote this about what 82 degrees felt like:

Yesterday, we also broke the rule about no big morning outings before naptime. We were desperate to visit the playground before it got too hot. Little did we realize it would be 82 degrees before 11:00am and the day only got progressively worse. Our playground is lovely but it lacks shade; for whatever reason, they bulldozed down acres and acres of huge oak trees to make a park.

The heat really doesn't bother me. Other people complain - especially my mom. I have to remember: dad doesn't like cold or clouds or rain and mom doesn't like heat. In my short lifetime, I have played outside when it was around 10 degrees and more than 105. I like it all; I just want to be outside all day long every day.

But my mom was nice enough to follow me on my miles-long journey along the path to see the bridge and the wildflowers are in bloom and there are puppies to look at and big hills to climb and run back down. I can identify bluebonnets! smart me.

I don't believe it

I get funnier by the day.

My latest phrase, and I have no idea where I learned it, is "I don't believe it."

Instead of asking "why" or "what's that" like children of average intelligence do, I want to know "how does it work." My mom finds it complicated to accurately explain how cranes work but she is learning. I love cranes and graders and steamrollers and forklifts and cherry picker trucks and skid steers; I know all of the facts about each of them.

Last week, I woke up predawn every day proclaiming that I am hungry. This week, I like to wake up at 5:00am (4:56, really) to ask if we can go to the store. Hey, I just realized that I was born at 4:56am. I wonder if that is why I wake up at that time; I will use that as my excuse.

birthday 27

Today we celebrated my 27-month birthday.

This has been an interesting week. The temperatures cooled off somewhat (like down to 95) as the Austin area wore a thick blanket of smoke. It is 102 today.

When I posted last week, a mere 300 homes had burned. The total nears 1500 now. In honor of my birthday today, we donated several boxes of household goods to families who lost everything. We parted with a set of Pier 1 plates, pots and pans, a blender, bedding, and ummmm what else? We made a good contact for making donations (she used to be the president of something or other in that area) so we will donate more mid-week.

On Tuesday, the fall session of music class started. We are now in the routine of going to music class, going home for a nap, and then visiting the jumpy gym on Tuesdays to run down my energy. (I usually over-nap after music class.) This Tuesday at the jumpy gym, I was so excited and having so much fun that I hopped down the trampoline track to hug my mom with an "I love you."

On Wednesday, my dad told me something like if you do this, then that will happen. I replied with a headstrong "I don't care."

Yesterday, I started using similes in my speech. "This pile of dirt is as big as a big rig." And "This rock is big like a cement mixer."

fires

The entire state really is on fire this weekend.

Around Austin, 300 houses have burned here, 25+ there. They have lost count, really. Thousands of families have been evacuated. Half of a state park has been lost.

Have no fear though: Rick Perry is coming back from the campaign trail. Perhaps he will wrestle the fires down with his bare hands.

(The one and only one good thing we can say about Rick Perry and do not, I repeat, DO NOT ever tell anyone that I praised him but he was good about helping Hurricane Katrina evacuees.)