Is it Summer in Here or is it just Me?

The morning in New Orleans began a crisp 72ish when Ashlee and I left for work at 7:30.  By 9:30 we were fanning ourselves with our own t-shirts, which we pulled out from our bodies somewhere near our bellies, batting them like parachutes.  

We finally escaped into the air-conditioned sanctuary of the New Orleans Aquarium.  For an hour and a half we marveled at morays and squished our noses up at sharks.  There was an albino alligator and fish with tunnels for mouths.  Very small children.  Creatures that looked like dinosaurs.  I'm talking sting rays that could envelope your dad.  There were frogs that looked like ladybugs and seahorses dressed like characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream.  

Eventually we wound ourselves past the reptiles, the pre-k students, and the shark and sting-ray-touch zones (Really.  That's what they were called.)  The fish had been harassed, the gift shop had been visited, the busses were waiting.  It was time to go.  

Three girls were straggling.  I started to hustle them along when D, the lady-shaped girl in the center, said "Ms. Craven, I can't... I don't feel good..."  She swooned like an old movie star.

We sat her down and wound up with her draped in Coach's arms... dizzy and faint from the heat.

She hadn't eaten all day.  She woke her mom up this morning to take her to school- not the other way around- and she fixes breakfast for her little brothers.   She said she was so excited to go on the field trip, she didn't eat during the free breakfast at school either.  "And I don't like that food anyway."

Yesterday was the first time D really talked to me.  She told me, very journalistically, how upset she was recently when her grandpa killed her dog.  How they decided not to call the cops.  Numerous other details that I will omit here.  After that conversation, two other girls began complaining about the new crack house in their neighborhood.  Their life stories are thick, complex novels.  Lore-thick.  Mine seems often just a light summer read: it has its peaks and valleys, but overall the line hovers pretty steadily around the "fun and not too difficult" dash.  

Please pardon my messy metaphors (messaphors?); I just marvel every day about the realities my kids come from.  (Sidenote: book to read: Random Family by LeBlanc)

It all worked out okay.  We got the first responders and played supporting roles until mom came to get her, take her to the doc.   

Then, serendipitously stuck on that side of the river, Ashlee and I got burritos. 

One good thing about the heat is I think it is actually making the mosquitoes a bit groggy (knock on wood).  The air is like warm jell-o.

Big Takeaways From Today:

Felipe's Burritos are once again proven to be super-delicious.

It is very important to stay hydrated.