This is a sampling of what we’ve been enduring in Denver the past couple of weeks:
I despise the heat but I’ve been coping with our record-breaking conditions rather well and have only complained very minimally about it.
Until Saturday.
Let me back up and say that due to our hot and dry conditions, Colorado is having our worst wildfire season ever with more than 100,000 acres burned and 10 wildfires going strong across the state. It’s devastating to watch so many family’s homes going up in smoke. Our firefighter neighbor is in the middle of a 12-day encampment on the fire line and I greatly applaud the sacrifices of so many.
To say it grates on me whenever someone rejoices about the heat that is exacerbating a horrible situation is an understatement.
There are three ways I’ve been coping with the heat: 1) Denial. 2) Daily outdoor swim lessons (what great timing) and 3) Air-conditioning. I won’t mention the fact our unit is too small for our house so our bedrooms upstairs feel like a sauna.
But where was I? Ahh, yes, my heat meltdown. We went camping last weekend in this 100-degree heat. I’ll have more details on that later and though it had all the fixins for the perfect getaway (friends, kayaking, fishing, horseback riding), the heat rendered me numb.
 |
| Bode’s first time fishing |
 |
| Hadley’s first extended horseback ride |
And not the good, cold kind of numb.
Jamie had a Bishopric meeting at 6:30 a.m. Sunday so I encouraged him to hang out with us during the day on Saturday and then head home that evening so he wouldn’t disturb us. Though we had an AWESOME time, I suffered through the day’s heat and started to come to life that evening when temperatures dropped from the triple- digits. But it was still sweltering when the kids and I went to bed.
9:30 p.m. Hot. Prayed at least kids would fall asleep and that I’d take one for the team.
9:45 p.m. Baby in neighboring tent crying.
10 p.m. Kids fell asleep. Realized being a team player sucked.
11 p.m. Baby still crying. Don’t blame baby. Was right there with him.
11:30 p.m. Parents take him home to his nice air-conditioned house. Consider stowing away.
Midnight. All is finally quiet in the campground.
12:30 p.m. Snoring begins at a neighboring tent and does not stop all night long.
1 p.m. Musical beds. Bode is a wild sleeper and rolled around the entire tent, forcing me to frequently change my location.
2 p.m. Still hot. And now exhausted.
3:30 p.m. Grab my iPhone and email Jamie about my misery.
Sunrise. Woken up by loud neighbors.
That email’s contents are private but evidently convincing enough that Jamie had an ice-cold smoothie and also some limeaid with fresh mint sprigs from the garden waiting for me.
It was the equivalent of drunk dialing, only it was “overheated emailing.”
And with the way our summer is starting out, it won’t be the last time.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 