Ten.Eight Hundred & Forty-Six

1. I hear a loud clatter from the vertical blinds. I get up to close the screen door and then walk into the kitchen and hear the winds howl. “Oh no, the fires. The firefighters.” My eyes get teary. I walk back into bed and say a little prayer. I listen to the wind.

2. All phones going off. 6 am. An evacuation for neighborhood in the next town over. Another fire.

3. The gift of someone else brewing the coffee.

4. They all look at me like I’m being silly but I know myself and I know how cold I will get and so calf-length winter jacket it is.

5. A gust of wind whips tiny beads of sand against our face and exposed ankles. I hope they cut this game short.

6. My black pants and black coat are covered in a thin film sand. When I try to put on chapstick I feel a thin layer of grit scraping across my lips.

7. Alerts about more fires.

8. I give up on trying to go to the grocery store today.

9. One of the twins thinks her father is very funny. She’s always giggling at him which I find amusing since most of us in the house have stopped laughing. But glad he’s got a new and willing audience.

10. This will be an interesting week.