Since we have been without a/c, I have found that extreme heat brings a new level of filth that is beyond tolerable. The temperature in the house makes everyone crabby and listless. Nobody has any energy to clean. When we do try to clean, the fans blow the dust and dog hair everywhere, even as we sweep it. Oh, the dog hair! The heat makes the dog shed in quantities that I have never seen before. We have enough hair to make several reams of really nasty yarn. The children keep playing in the water hose to try and cool off, which makes mud and dirty laundry, which is tracked through the house. Molly likes the water hose too. She also likes to take naps in the cool bathtub. The bathtub has dog hair and muddy pawprints, the floors are covered with swirling clumps of dog hair and muddy footprints and the couch has a layer of dog hair that sticks to our sweaty bodies. We feel pretty. Oh, so pretty. I alternate between laughing at the absurdity of it all and just weeping from the misery. This is one of those times when I wouldn’t mind prozac in the drinking water. And a cleaning service. And a night in a hotel. Instead, I’m going to alternate between playing code monkey and initialing crayons.