The Dog Days of March

We’re still trying to understand this Texas weather. One Monday, the temps reached the low 90s. It wasn’t particularly humid, so it was quite nice. Coincidently, on that day the girls received a package from Grandma and Grandpa containing nice, soft, cozy jackets. The girls loved them and wanted to immediately put them on. Ella even zipped hers up, all by herself – a first! They really wanted to wear them out to our next stop…

…the pool. It took some persuading to get them to leave the jackets behind, but they were excited to wear their swimsuits outside for the first time this year. The water wasn’t quite as cold as when we dipped our feet in in February, but it was still plenty refreshing. It seems the younger you are, the less you notice the level of refreshing. The girls jumped right in and got to playing with their playground friend, Bella, who was also enjoying the water – and whose mom had thought to bring toys. I was just excited to have remembered sun screen. The girls played for an hour and then we ventured in for baths and dinner. A nice little afterschool activity.

Exactly one week later, I was wearing layers in the house and debating turning the heat as I watched the temp creep lower in the apartment. The mornings were below freezing with highs in the 50s. The Minnesotan in me knows those temps are still warm. But now that I’d already been swimming outside the week before, it just felt cruel. I didn’t turn the heat on, I just added a layer and put some slippers on. The day, before, Loran and I had packed up all of our winter coats/gear and put it into storage. Classic. We’re back to our chilly mornings and highs in the 70s. The jackets from Grandma have been getting a lot of use.