Hot-headed Ladies

The universe's cruel, ironic idea of a joke was to curse a girl named Summer with complete hatred of the heat.  It's no secret that my behavior gets worse as the temperature climbs.  Being hot makes me want to smash things for no rational reason.  The only way I manage to get through heat waves without completely losing my humanity is thanks to the abundance of ice cream stands in the area.  It's hell on my waistline...too hot to exercise.

Unfortunately, along with my stunning good looks, Madeline seems to have inherited my winning personality as well.  (Thankfully, she has not inherited my cankles.  Bless her heart.)  

During this past weekend's heat wave, we decided to seek relief in the air-conditioned mall.  (Our house does not have AC.  This may have to change...soon.)  Before Madeline even made it through the parking lot, she had two heat-induced meltdowns.  The first was because she is not allowed to ride the employees-only freight elevator.  The second was because there were doors.  Doors cause rage.  

There were a series of other back-to-back incidents as we made our way from one end of the mall to the other that are best left unsaid.  They will only make us look like jackasses.  We thought of leaving, but that meant going back out in the heat.  Instead, we gritted our teeth and smiled apologetically at everyone unfortunate enough to cross paths with us.

"I swear, she's usually not like this," I tried to communicate with my eyes.  "It's the heat.  The heat."

Then a miraculous thing happened.  After loudly declaring her hatred for pizza, the universe, and most of its inhabitants, we sat Madeline down calmly at a table and placed a plate in front of her.  She sniffled a moment, grudgingly tried a bite of the much-hated pizza, and instantly her mood shifted.  The beast was defeated!  Our little angel was back again, saved by the cool atmosphere and a few bites of junk food.  

It was eerily familiar.

"Wow.  She's just like me!"  I said, not knowing if I should laugh or cry in horror.

Eric raised his eyebrows and shook his head.  "You think?!"  he mocked.

Later that night, after Madeline was sleeping soundly, Eric confessed that he was a little bit jealous.  "She's a little Summer," he said.  "There's so much of you, and I don't see much of me at all."  

"She likes puzzles..." I offered.  "She doesn't get that from me."

We literally waded out the rest of the weekend in her kiddie pool until some storms rolled through and broke the heat last night.  It's going to be an interesting summer....