Ten.One Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Seven
-
No power.
-
The mind goes to the worst-case scenario. I open the front door to see if I can hear the neighbor’s generator. I think it’s the right sound. I check the PG&E website. It is just us on the hillside, Angwin, Pope Valley. I mark the day: Thursday, May 19th.
-
I get back in bed and wait impatiently for just a little more daylight.
-
Donuts for breakfast because I don’t want them opening the refrigerator.
-
For a brief moment, I feel frustrated and alone but then I remember that I can trust myself. Just think it through and make the best decision. Will anyone die? Probably not.
-
I tell him that I think it’s unfair to blame the parents who work all day and are too tired to voice their concerns or give their time. That is when it is the responsibility of the ones who can to step up and do the work of supporting the ones who can’t. That’s community. You don’t get to ignore issues because they don’t personally affect you - because, by the way, they eventually do.
-
I try to print my notes, but I am out of paper.
-
I am speaking so fast. Why am I so nervous? I can barely catch my breath. It’s the culmination of everything that has happened today.
-
Four hours later, we walk out. I think to myself about how this is all about stamina.
-
This is the nature of things: the heart of the goal is always the same, but the process of achieving that goal can be different. And it’s those differences in thinking that create the tension that is required to generate a better solution. But it’s not easy to sit through.
-
I tell him that I am exhausted. That it started with waking up with no power. Then taking the kids to school. Then going to the morning meeting; followed by the team meeting; followed by managing the reporter and cameraman; followed by the local newspaper reporter; followed by the communications meeting; followed by rushing to write out my comments for the school board meeting; followed by sitting in the school board meeting for so long because I felt it was important to be there until the new superintendent was confirmed. And I mean, when you’ve already sat through 25 agenda items, why not stay for the last three? “Have you eaten?” “No.”
-
I bring the last corner of the lasagna and a small class of chianti up to bed, and think about tomorrow’s to-do list.