The long, hot summer

The days and the weeks are stretching out faaaaaaaar in front of me. As far as I can see at the moment. Endless sand dunes that all look pretty much the same, the sky blue and the sun beating down, making any movement slow.

Every morning, after breakfast I say: "OK, kids. Get your swimmers on, let's go to the pool." As the weeks have progressed, they've moved from "Yay!" to shooting me looks like I've just said: "Let's go to the dentist and get fillings." I hurry them on before it gets too hot to go to the pool. While the water in the pool is chilled, the air when any part of your body is out of the water makes the whole mission almost pointless.

Then there are the middle hours of the day. What to do, what to do. We could go to the mall. We could look at the toy shops. For the past couple of weeks it's been Ramadan - so no lunch excursions or excuses for morning or afternoon tea or even a milkshake.

All our friends are away, so no playdates to fill in the long hours.

I flick through lists of 'Things to do with kids in summer' on the net. We've ticked off all of them. Kidzania, Magic Planet, Fun City, Fun Square, Fun Corner. There's kids shows at the mall but they all seem to be on at times which aren't Aussie kid-friendly (7.30pm and 9pm).

We've baked cakes and cookies. Made homemade burgers and pizzas. We've drawn and coloured and glued and cut. We've made cubby houses. We've built cities. They've sung and danced performances. They've played cards, iPads and computers. Did I mention we've swum?

In the afternoon, I suggest another swim. "NOOOOOO!" they cry. We head down to the park and attempt to kick a ball. Everyone is tomato-red and dripping in sweat after 15 minutes.

The longest, hottest summer in history! Five-and-a-half weeks to go...