Wacky Mommy has tagged me for a meme. I’m supposed to come up with 10 things that either my family or my dog don’t know about me.
Ok, the dog is too easy. He’s only known me since January, and he was only a tiny baby then. There’s lots he doesn’t know about me, including the fact that I’m serious when I tell him to stop digging in the potted plants, and that I WILL WIN the battle of the wills.
And my family?
Ilsa is re-reading the Series of Unfortunate Events, and she said to me the other night, “It says here that all parents have secrets from their children, but I don’t think that’s true. I mean, I could imagine it. It makes sense that you wouldn’t tell your daughter everything. But I still don’t think it’s true.” So what do you think? Do you tell your kids everything? I think there’s a lot about me she doesn’t know; and a fair amount I hope she never finds out.
However, by family do you include Donn? I’ve known him for ½ of my life now, and there’s not a lot he doesn’t know. He knows how I really feel about Bob Dylan, and how I really feel about sharing my coffee (don’t touch my coffee. Seriously. Just move away). He knows the order in which I like to eat apples and the order I read the comics in, when I have comics to read that is. He knows I HATE it when he uses my towel, which happens to hang next to the sink. He knows NOT to ask for a bite of my hamburger or LU biscuit (the le petit ecolier kind) because I eat around the edges and I don’t like to share the best part, the middle, which I have been saving for myself. The whole family knows I don’t like to drink cold drinks from mugs which are intended for hot drinks; I also don’t like to drink hot drinks in glass mugs. I drink my tea from china cups. I’m expressive; emotive. I don’t hide things. (I also—is this just me?—sound a little neurotic here, when really I’m easy-going and fun-loving) My family knows that I am always reading something, especially in the car, and that I hate it when they (they being the Evil Satanic World Government) make movies out of my favorite books, so much so that sometimes I actually forbid my children from watching the movie, (how uptight is this woman, you ask yourself) because I feel it will spoil the book for them. My poor children and yes, I am accepting contributions for future therapy. So this meme could be tough.
Then I came up with the perfect variation. How about 10 Things I Like about Hot Dusty Days? I started this blog entry last Friday, which was the 4th day of the sandstorm and triple-digit heat. Thankfully, that night the wind shifted, and the skies cleared. But the heat has remained. It’s 106 to 113 most days, the heat and light like heavy golden bars crashing on your head when you step outside. In the evenings, it cools down and the stars are brilliant. We hide inside as much as we can, and fight about whose turn it is to run to the store for an item we will try to live without at least until evening, like toilet paper or milk. If possible, we send the children, whining, out into the heat, to buy a block of frozen butter at a store ½ a block away and have it melting by the time they run back inside with it. (I’m KIDDING about sending my kids out into the heat and squabbling with my husband of course! At least, I want to go on record as KIDDING).
At the beach on Saturday, the sand was so hot that even though I was wearing flip-flops, it filtered in and burned the sides of my feet. The birds were lethargic with heat; they flew low, sometimes under the cars looking for shade, and one landed, briefly, on the top of Abel’s head as he bobbed on an innertube in the water. We finally got the tent set up (it took approximately forever) and I rushed into the cool, green water, and after that my outlook miraculously changed and I had a super-wonderful-fantastic day at the beach! Did I mention it was great?
This morning, after all the thesis students finally went away, I decided to take a nice, refreshing shower. It was around noon. I turned on the cold water, but the water that emerged (from pipes laid close to the ground outside) was hot. At least we save money on heating water!
Without further ado, then, 10 Things I Like About the Hot Season in Mauritania:
1. Umm….
2. I’m THINKING!
3. I like that my house has windows that actually close.
4. I like that my bedroom has AC so I can sleep.
5. umm….
6. I like that sandstorms can’t technically last forever.
7. They HAVE to end sometime, right?
8. I like that it got hot so late this year. Usually we start these hot days in March or April. It’s already mid-May.
9. It is also mango season. That’s worth a lot of heat and dust.
10. And my absolute favorite thing about this hot season? It’s my last one. We’re shaking the dust off our feet (literally, not figuratively) and moving on. This is the end of our time in Mauritania. It’s not going to cool down till October, but that’s ok—we’re leaving the end of July.
So we’re still here for a while, but it’s amazing how much my attitude is helped by the realization that this is my last hot season. I don’t deal well with the heat. It tends to bring out the worst in me—and that’s something that my family and my dog already know, unfortunately.
Why the move? Well, see above. There are other reasons, too, but I won’t go into them now.
Where to next? Wait and see… more info will be revealed
16 comments
May 14, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Jodi
I am SO EXCITED to come along with you on your next adventure! We might be moving this summer as well, but I imagine our move will be of a more mundane variety than yours.
May 14, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Kit
I also hate it when THEY make movies out of MY favourite books. Having said that, Narnia did pass muster in everything, except that the White Witch just wasn’t scary enough (which was probably a good thing or my son would have been having nightmares for weeks).
Good luck with organizing your move.
May 14, 2007 at 8:17 pm
planetnomad
Thanks, Jodi. It promises to be rather exciting, actually, but things are very up in the air at the moment.
And Kit, we’ll need it! I’ve given hints on this blog as to my organizational skills. Add that to the intense work of thesis students (which won’t be done till mid-July) and things should be lots of fun on Planet Nomad!
BTW, Narnia is one of the films I won’t let them watch 🙂
May 14, 2007 at 8:41 pm
AuthorMomwithDogs
I’d been wondering if Mauritania was going to be home for years to come — and finding that hard to imagine.
Can’t wait to hear about the next place. Hopefully, fewer sand storms, scorching heat, and goat stomach dinners.
May 14, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Rebecca
You’re moving! You should move to my town if you get tired easily of hot weather, let me tell you.
May 15, 2007 at 12:00 am
Wacky Mommy
Hey, you did it! Thanks!! I love a good meme. And re: the books into movies theme, I really loved the film version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And I *adored* the books. My kids are still too young to view or read, so it doesn’t matter here.
Keep us posted, for sure.
May 15, 2007 at 5:42 am
Kris
Awww, you should let them watch Narnia. They actually did a really good job with it. I even came home and compared it to the books and liked it.
Just don’t ever watch “The Children of Men” if you’ve read the book. Grrrr that one did NOT please me!!
May 15, 2007 at 7:28 am
meredith
You have me hooked with following your adventures. Will it be much cooler where you are going to next? 🙂
May 15, 2007 at 9:11 am
Rebecca
Ummm, am I having a problem posting comments or is it just me? Usually I can see them straight away but now I can’t
May 15, 2007 at 11:00 pm
LIB
One ‘trend’ I’ve noticed in books-to-movies is having the author of the book write, or cowrite, the screenplay. This has meant for some very good film adaptations. Two I can think of right away are: ‘Holes’ (Young Adult fiction) and ‘Cold Mountain’. So, I can’t say no to all film adaptions of books anymore.
May 16, 2007 at 12:47 am
Kristi
I don’t envy you. I left Texas because of the heat.
I actually *loved* the movie version of The Lion, The Witch, etc. I thought it was spot on.
And my favorite book to movie…Gone With the Wind. Without a doubt.
May 16, 2007 at 8:54 am
Rebecca
My comment still didn’t appear 😦
May 17, 2007 at 12:31 am
Pieces
This post is funny! Except for the hot, hot sand. Heat isn’t funny. How thrilling that this is your last hot season! I don’t think you sound neurotic at all. If we all listed our musts and nevers we would all sound a little kooky.
May 26, 2007 at 5:04 am
Michelle in MX
I just got done with the sci-fi novel Dune by Frank Herbert. (again)
I know, I know, I’m an odd mommy . . .
Regardless, whenever I want to get far far far away I will pick this book up and there I am on a desert planet.
I comment now, because where you are sounds an awful lot like this desert planet!
Oh, and I won’t EVER let my kids see ANY of the movies they made of Dune . . . I mean, REALLY! *roll of eyes*
January 24, 2008 at 10:17 pm
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