Ten.One Thousand, Seven Hundred & Twenty

1. Less cold? Or colder?

2. The sound of the birds is always the loudest right before sunrise.

3. The way the light fills the room. The shadows.

4. I get all of them into the car at just the right time. Small cup of coffee that I should not be drinking.

5. I raise the blinds and see the blooming dogwood. I walk over and turn the heat on. Maybe I will be here all alone.

6. I always learn something new on Thursdays.

7. I feel like everyone is asking me if I am ok with what is happening and this must be because of the face that I was making on yesterday’s Zoom.

8. But really, I am proud of myself for being able to talk coherently while driving loops around Saint Helena.

9. Game One while watching Game Two and checking on Game Three. Game One over, roll over to Game Three while watching Game Two. He asks me if he can go to A&W. I say “no,” multiple times.

10. All wins for the Sommers. Gott’s in the dark. A table full of women and young ladies. The youngest boy sits down. “The girls will always be a little older,” she says. “No, the girls will always be a little smarter,” he says back. “You’ve been taugth well.”