Ten.One Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Nine

1. We really do need to get up.

2. I sit in the back seat with the youngest. The big kid always complains that his legs are too long to sit in the back. At six feet tall, he makes a good argument.

3. FM by Steely Dan. A wave of nostalgia washes over as I stare out at the vineyards and hazy blue sky. I can’t find my scarf so I use the sleeve of my sweater to dab at the tears.

4. This is the worst spinach and feta croissant I’ve ever had in my life, but I should have expected it.

5. Loss.

6. Azteca at the park, watching another baseball game. Kids we do and do not know. Parents we do and do not know. Cheering for the home team.

7. I think of how often she mentions how this town is classic Americana. And maybe it is, for a handful of us. Maybe the majority of us. It is what we felt during our visits here. Yes, it is wine country. Yes, we continue to be outpriced and discouraged by the multi-millionaires and billionaires who take up space here because, ultimately, it feeds their ego and their pockets and their desire to consume. But there are some like us who move here because we wanted something quieter and smaller. Because we saw an opportunity to feel like a part of a community. Because we wanted to spend our Saturdays sitting in the park eating chips and salsa and cheering on the home team.

8. Red Thread Wines. A perfect pocket of quiet on Howell Mountain. Heritage Eats Food Truck. A glass of sauvignon blanc. Familiar faces. She says something about how hard it is to make friends when you are an introvert, but that a lot of it is putting yourself out there, especially in a small town like this where everyone knows everybody.

9. Maybe it’s time to bring back soup night?

10. Final score: 2-0. Their first-ever playoff win.