Ten.Three Hundred & Forty-Two

1. I skipped yesterday but drag myself down today. I can feel the tightness in my shoulders and in my left quad.

2. How long before they all wake? I want just 30 more minutes to myself before the day begins. 

3. Still quiet. The smell of bacon. The whir of the dishwasher. Coffee grinder. Robin chatter.

4. Cleaning Day is really like therapy. It might be one of the few times a week where I am alone and no one wants to bother me which means that I can think all of the thoughts and scrub my way to an answer that feels right.  

5. All of a sudden I am yelling.  

6. This game of Eye Spy in the car is getting out of hand.  

7. There’s time for this. There is always time for this.  

8. I forget about the promised treat so we stop at the Mariano’s—gelato for them and a bottle of Barbera d’Asti for me. 

9. MYOP Night: Make Your Own Pizza Night.  Always a hit but always so much work. Salad with garden spinach. I candy the walnuts and them plus some dried cranberries to the greens. I think about how far I’ve come as a mother and a wife and a cook as a result. I remember that the things that are now the most ordinary and natural are that way because consistent practice.

10. So many robins.