Hot Days

The weather has been really hot this past month, it's enough to make me faint. With no air con in the house it feels even worse. That's the one good thing about working, at least I can sit in air con most of the day and freeze. I don't know if I feel the heat more because of menopause, there may still be some hormonal action left yet.

So it's days like these that I think about home. Canada, in the winter time, spring and autumn. Days where you can put on a sweater and go out for a walk and feel comfortable.

I remember as a kid my mother was very big on throwing us outside everyday for fresh air, whether we wanted to go or not. Wasn't an option. Now I don't know if that is what she really believed, or she just couldn't stand us in the house, while she had her nervous break downs.

My sister and I would play outside for hours. We had a huge tree in the yard were my father had hung an old tire, so my sister and I and some of the neighbourhood kids would play on it for hours. How the old man got it up there without falling, and breaking his neck is beyond me, but some how he did it.

We loved that old tyre and we'd all pretend it was a space ship and we were aliens. We also had an old swing set, but we preferred the old tyre.

In the autumn we'd rake the leaves into a huge pile then run and jump into them. We had a lot of leaves on our property, because we had a lot of trees.

Even in the winter time my mother would throw us outdoors. The only time we could escape being thrown out in the snow, was when the thermometer hit below zero and the dog came in from outside, after her pee, with an icicle hanging from her you know what. When we went to my aunts house my cousin and I would go tobogganing. There was a pretty mean hill near his house, and we would build a bump of snow near the end of the hill, so that when we slid down, we'd hit that bump and go flying through the air. I'm surprised neither of us ended up with a broken arm. I guess with all the winter clothing on we were too well padded to be hurt.

There is one incident that sticks out in my mind about those days. I come from a family of 4 daughters , no sons and I am the eldest. My second sister and I were very close so when my third sister was born we were not close to her. Probably because when she was young she was very sickly and so my parents were more protective of her. My sister Cathy and I were jealous, so as she grew older we were mean to her and wouldn't let her play. Of course my mother never let us hear the end of that. Anyways on my third sisters birthday my parents bought her a new swing set. Cathy and I had taken over the old tyre. I think it must have been her 4 th birthday, so all the aunts and uncles and cousins were invited for the birthday party. My father had gone out, and set up the swing set for her, and once done we all went outside so Angela could have her first swing on her new swing set. She sat on the swing and started to swing and as she pumped higher and higher the swing set fell over, Angela ended up on the ground crying and Cathy and I were laughing like hell. My mom didn't think it was very funny and I can still feel the swat on my ass, that we both got, from mom for laughing.