Ten.One Thousand, Two Hundred & Thirty-One

1. I hear the door creak open. Someone must be trying to sneak some X-box.

2. “The power is out.” I send him back to bed with a flashlight just in case.

3. Nothing on PG&E yet. Only 3:30am. I close my eyes.

4. I look out the window to see if she’s awake and has power. She’s awake, but there’s just the glow from the camp light she used during the last power outage. Okay, good. it’s not just us.

5. Too much coffee too soon.

6. Can’t get the images out of my mind.

7. She is brown skinned and is of color and the rest of them are just trying, and that’s really awesome. Wait. Why isn’t my job just having conversations with people? I needed this today.

8. We only hear what we want to hear.

9. I tell him about the call and that I feel really good about this little town that we call home. There’s some promise here. I’m encouraged.

10. I should really call my parents.