Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Seventeen

1. Late, late, late. But it feels good.

2. I hope on to chat with her. We haven’t spoken since May but it feels even longer than that.

3. Cut short.

4. Groceries delayed. What else do we need? There is no steak and no markers. I need the markers.

5. It’s their last practice. I place the blanket under the tree and lay down. They play a game of kickball and toss water balloons and eat pizza. We say goodbye, many of us forever - two families moving away to Arizona. I tell him he was the best coach we’ve ever had for anything. I hope we are able to find someone like him again.

6. We laugh. Nothing wrong with the car after all.

7. We drive home. He’s following me. No more acceleration. Engine noise but it won’t go. I make it over to the shoulder. Never a dull moment.

8. I can’t even be angry. The irony. I laugh to keep from crying. Of course, with everything that is going on, this would happen. Gratitudes: good thing he was still following me, good thing we happen to have the financial resources to pay for a tow and the eventual service, good thing we were almost home.

9. I eat the Early Girls while chatting with my parents.

10. I tell him that, though nothing is perfect, I had a really good life. I got to do and see a lot of things that most people don’t. I need to remember that more.

11. He seems to be coming around.