The Parent Project: Month 6

I’m back at work. As I leave my house, it’s my first day back at work. We have a very British conversation about the weather. He says, “Isn’t this sun great?” It’s like being on vacation. It would be wonderful to have this experience every day.
I think of the nursery thermometer, which glows red and shows 26°F. The screen even displays a sad face to indicate how hot the room is. My 6-month-old son is irritable and unable to regulate his body temperature. I think about how little sleep he has gotten trying to make his bed comfortable at night. My expectations of summer differ from those of my neighbour. The same situation can be interpreted two ways and viewed from two completely different perspectives. I can’t wait for the heatwave to end.
“Yes,” I reply, “it’s amazing.” It’s hard to explain why it’s so different. I don’t want it late on my first day.
It’s fine to work. It’s almost like I never left. It’s the same walk to the sandwich shop at noon; it’s the same commute home by tube. But I am extremely tired.
As I prepare to go to bed, the kitchen voice says, “You might need clean pyjamas.” “I used yours this morning to clean up sick.”
We reuse things all of the time. An issue log is created from a risk log at work. To edit the next project, the charter from the previous project is used. My old schedule was modified to accommodate the new plan of another person. A pyjama top becomes a muslin material at home.
When I put my old pyjamas in the linen basket, I realized how much washing was involved. There are adult clothes, baby clothes, cot sheets, towels. Tomorrow, if I have the energy to wash it and the will, I’ll do so.
It might be a good idea for the sun to shine for a little longer. I will at least be able to do a few loads.