Ten.Five Hundred & Three

1. Getting closer. 

2. The patting down of coffee into the cylinder in a quiet kitchen. Another very needed grounding.  

3. Maybe it’s chilly because of the window. I grab Emergent Strategy and crawl into the corner of the couch. Think blue blanket over my feet. Hot coffee and pencil in one hand.  

4. Meal plan. Oh yeah, next week is Thanksgiving. I need a turkey. And cranberry sauce. The oldest wants extra cans just for himself. 

5. The kids ask us why other people aren’t wearing masks but we are. I tell them that not everyone understands how bad the air is. That they think walking to and from the car won’t matter.  

6. I want to be like Oprah, “You get a mask! And you get a mask!” It’s the populations already at risk who suffer the most.  

7. Chili.  

8. All the boxes in the laundry room. No reception and no WiFi so I can only listen to Amy Winehouse and Beyoncé.  

9. I tell him that by Sunday I’ll have more time to snuggle.

10. Hands so rough from all of the cardboard and paper and tape. Rough from the work of change.