Ten.One Thousand, Eight Hundred & Eighty-Nine

1. I don’t think I could wake up any earlier than I already am. But I need to wake up earlier than I already am.

2. The half-oat milk, half-coffee seems to be doing the trick.

3. His cart is still wet and a little dirty. He slides across the entire seat to dry it with his pants. A true gentleman.

4. I am sad that I can’t go, but I also need this time alone to do real work.

5. “…how come you didn’t tell me?” “I don’t know.”

6. The sound of gravel crunching underneath my feet. Little gray lizards scurrying between the rocks. The courts are empty and quiet.

7. Sometimes, when you don’t care, you feel a little more free.

8. I am excited for her.

9. Fewer than yesterday but keeping the faith.

10. He’s feeling proud.

Ten.One Thousand, Four Hundred & Seventy-Five

1. The first bit of golden light.

2. Cereal and water and coffee.

3. We head to the peach stand first. She tells us which peaches are available for today. We talk about ways to eat them. I tell her about the roasted peach with maple nut crumble and cream that I just ate at the CIA not too long ago. She wants to keep talking but more people are coming to the stand. Esther is her name. The money from the sale of the peaches goes back to the farm to help it convert to organics, she says through the open car window.

4. Helicopters overhead. Circling and circling and circling.

5. I do like it here.

6. I tell him about threes. I know he thinks it’s silly.

7. Someone nominated me?

8. Quiet but for the buzz of the flies. The air is still. It is quiet. I look for the swan. How much longer can it stay with the water continually receding?

9. Olivia Brion Tempranillo with the grilled pork.

10. Peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I squeeze a little caramel sauce on the side. I hope there is still some left when I wake up tomorrow.

Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Thirty-Eight

1. I hear him open the window and then close it. Too hot for that today.

2. Remember to look up the naked lady flowers.

3. Sunrise through the trees. Coffee. Hashing out future plans.

4. It just might work.

5. Sometimes we speak completely different languages.

6. That was easy.

7. Two emergency room visits in three days.

8. She’s freaking out because she’s worried that by just being in the hospital her significant other will get COVID. She has nothing to wipe her snot with. The security guard tries to calm her down.

9. I watch the old ladies walk their old men to the cars. The sounds of their shuffling feet across the dirty pavement.

10. Everything is fine.

11. She makes the brownies.

12. This was definitely the most right choice.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

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You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
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The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
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• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Ten.One Thousand & Forty-Six

1. This is not the kind of text you want to wake up to.

2. I slip into his shoes, almost too easy.

3. I pour the hot water onto the grounds and watch it bloom. I’m glad this is a new part of the morning.

4. She can’t sit in the lobby, so she’s on her way home.

5. I wonder if I will be able to focus and be present during our writing circle. I contemplate skipping it. But no, I need it.

6. More wisdom cards. Quiet dust. When the wind works against us. Take root. What’s your wingspan? Reach beyond the vulture. Fish in the sky. Rebirth as contentment. Edge walker. Edge worker. Just have to keep swimming. Use the bridge. Comfortable everywhere. Mask.

7. I take the leftover smoked chicken breast and grab the wilting salad greens. Champagne vinegar and olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. It needs something else. Pennyroyal Lychee cheese.

8. I show him the proper way to do a left-handed layup. Then he makes ten in a row.

9. Affirmation.

10. This conversation between Julia and Andre. A screen full of mostly black and brown bodies drinking wine and sharing stories. One of the silver linings.

11. 2019 Lumen Escence Pinot Gris.

Ten.One Thousand & Twelve

1. What time is it?

2. I open his door and hear him snoring. Good. How many times did he wake me up? Maybe I can get a nap today.

3. I smell the coffee as soon as I step into the kitchen. I tell him it smells like coffee shop coffee. Simple pleasures.

4. The way the bird of paradise looks electric in the glow of the morning sun.

5. I start to clean out the corner by the desk. It is full of things from Fever Dreams and baskets and frames, loose cords and papers. I find pictures of them getting their first library cards and old school pictures.

6. We both have Leo sons. We both feel like this time is for us to lean into what’s calling. I don’t feel particularly helpful, but I am grateful for the connection.

7. I say that for eyeballing it, two degrees isn’t that bad. He doesn’t seem to think so. It’s even now, though. I hang a garland of her rosebuds, the Turkish towel, my gray scarf. Beside it, I hang a white ceramic saguaro. This little vignette makes me happy. Now, for a bench. Or maybe I reclaim the settee from the girl.

8. Hammock. Sun so hot I begin to sweat. I put on shorts and take off my sweater. I hold the magazine above me to block out the sun. The heat feels good on my legs. Oh yes, now it’s coming back to me. I remember the slow burn of summer.

9. I keep looking at imagery, trying to find what fits the words, the feeling.

10. I realize that I have eggs, but no baskets. It’s probably okay. We can figure it out.

Ten.One Thousand & Five

1. The problem is that as soon as he turns off the waves I wake up. Which means that if he doesn’t sleep, neither do I.

2. Lucky Charms.

3. I watch the video of the chef breaking down the duck. I can do this; it’s not that much different from breaking down a chicken.

4. My battery is running out. I sit on the floor, close to the outlet so that we can finish our conversation. We laugh. We talk about serious things. Maybe there is some hope. We feel okay about nothing ever being the same, though there is still some grief surrounding this feeling.

5. Hot ginger-lemon tea infused with cinnamon. I stay on the floor and talk to my brother next.

6. I just wish I was there. I really wish I was there.

7. I want the words but it feels like the words don’t want me. This has been the story for too long.

8. But the potatoes.

9. Raft Sangiovese. I might have a hard time blinding this as a wine from the new world. Earthy, great acidity, bright fruit that is present but doesn’t dominate. It’s clear to me that her wines are meant to go with food, not overpower it.

10. They want the Pinot Noir Juice as their dessert. He shows him how to use the wine key to remove the cork. I can’t decide if this is a good idea.

11. Where are the words?

Ten.Nine Hundred & Eighty

1. What day is it?

2. Check the traffic. Not that bad. I still have time.

3. Stillness. The click of the lamp. I spill my water on the book, dry it off with my scarf and settle into the green chair to write.

4. Set ego aside.

5. I make my way down the street. The moon is high and bright. Dark blue sky.

6. She’s so pleasant. What a great start. Second person. Big smile. Kind words. Person three and four and five. And this is good service. This is worth it. Though they should probably forego the platter of pastries.

7. He tells me that he’s just waiting for love. I tell him it takes a lot of courage to end an engagement because you realize that it’s not going to work.

8. Why do people tell me so many things?

9. Thirsty.

10. He tells me it’s been a slow day, that he could count the number of people at the Oakland Airport on his hands. I remember that this…experience affects so many. That if no one is traveling, not only are the airlines losing money but so are the Lyft and Uber drivers who depend on the gig economy to bridge the gap.

11. What is happening?

12. Overcompensating.

Ten.Nine Hundred & Twenty-Three

1. Good rest.

2. I remember that I promised scones so I ought to get up now and make those.

3. Too much moisture? Too many blueberries?

4. What time is it? Is he still sleeping? It’s almost 10.

5. “…amazing people are attracted by a great culture. Whether we plan it or not, culture will happen. Why not create the culture we want?”

6. ”You cannot inspire unless you’re inspired yourself.”

7. The three of us out here together. He’s surprisingly receptive. We show him how to defend down on the block, how to take one dribble and shoot, how to roll toward the basket in a pick-and-roll, a simple lay-up drill.

8. He’s still out there.

9. “Who ate the muffin?! Who ate the muffin?! WHO ATE THE MUFFIN?!“

10. I could maybe eat the rest of these.

Ten.Seven Hundred and Ninety-Nine

1. Just a little longer.

2. Grateful for a non red-eye flight which means I can take my time getting ready. I wash and dry the dishes and brew the coffee without rushing. I stick a load of clothes in the laundry. I have time to make everyone do everything they need to do for themselves.

3. I am missing them and I have t even left yet.

4. I take a few deep breaths. He thinks it odd that I still feel this way each time I travel even though I’ve flown so many times.

5. I can feel tears welling up in my eyes; involuntary reaction due to anxiety.

6. I kill time by downloading movies, writing emails, and drinking a milkshake.

7. No one in the middle.

8. No. I definitely have never seen all of this movie.

9. I had forgotten just how dark the highways are here. I can’t tell if I have my high beams on or if the Jeep’s lights are just so bright because the air around us is so overwhelmingly black.

10. So good to be here.

Ten.Seven Hundred and Ninety-Nine

1. Just a little longer.

2. Grateful for a non red-eye flight which means I can take my time getting ready. I wash and dry the dishes and brew the coffee without rushing. I stick a load of clothes in the laundry. I have time to make everyone do everything they need to do for themselves.

3. I am missing them and I have t even left yet.

4. I take a few deep breaths. He thinks it odd that I still feel this way each time I travel even though I’ve flown so many times.

5. I can feel tears welling up in my eyes; involuntary reaction due to anxiety.

6. I kill time by downloading movies, writing emails, and drinking a milkshake.

7. No one in the middle.

8. No. I definitely have never seen all of this movie.

9. I had forgotten just how dark the highways are here. I can’t tell if I have my high beams on or if the Jeep’s lights are just so bright because the air around us is so overwhelmingly black.

10. So good to be here.

Ten.Six Hundred & Twenty-Three

1. Just a little bit longer.

2. Of course everyone is very hungry on the morning I chose to sleep in. No, breakfast is not yet ready.

3. Coffee plus a slice of tart berry galette plus trying to decide whether or not securing a sofa should be on the day’s agenda.

4. “One day at a time,” I say. He’s okay with that.

5. Towels and bath rugs. Dinner for tonight. I let her add a wedge of blue cheese to the cart because who am I to discourage a budding gourmand? Plus I have pears and walnuts at home and oh, what a combination that could be.

6. Cleaning can wait.

7. Blanchot, Bougros, Grenouiles, Les Clos, Les Preuses, Valmur, Vaudesir. How is the rhyme still in my head?

8. Almost like the absence of sound.

9. A little too dry.

10. He knows the phases of the moon better than I do.

Ten.Five Hundred & Thirty

1. What time is it? 

2. Move the elf.  

3. Gratitude for extra muffins that can be reheated for today’s breakfast.  

4. We take a quick walk. We find the river which is not a river but a creek—and a very dry one at that.  

5. He says that he’s not doing too bad considering he’s a grandpa with two grandsons in the backseat of his Prius. I wish him good luck. He says, “Thank you! I need it.” People here are so damn nice.  

6. I don’t mind having a “job” if it means getting to make a beautiful drive like this every day. 

7. What a beautiful place to work.  

8. Jack in the box. Never again. Now I remember why I never ate here in high school.

9. He didn’t have that great of a time on his field trip. But he’s excited to show me the pictures that he took of the Golden Gate Bridge and Berkeley. I think of the text message he wrote to me thanking me for moving him to California. I think he really does like it here even if the field trip was a bust. 

10. More Pinot Noir from Alsace. They all talk with their hands. Where do they get that from?

10.1 Fireplace. Christmas music. Stockings. Just the two of us.  

Ten.Five Hundred & Sixteen

1. Shouldn’t be too surprised he’s up this early.  

2. John Mayer. Live acoustic version of “Why Georgia.” I wish it was “3x5” because the clouds do indeed look like mountains. 

3.  She apologizes for yawning. “It’s okay. It’s early,” I say. “It’s only early when you’re trying to do too much,” she laughs.  

4. We keep telling each other that everyone seems so nice here. I don’t think we’re imagining it.  

5. Cleaning day. The first one with all the kids gone. Once again, the ordinary acts of being root me.  

6. Feist. Beyoncé. KT Tunstall. 

7. Everything is so saturated. I’m okay with this kind of winter. 

8. Duolingo. 

9. But if I were to describe the colors of the leaves, I don’t think I could find the words that would communicate their intensity. 

10. So much beauty everywhere.  

Ten.Five Hundred & Sixteen

1. Shouldn’t be too surprised he’s up this early.  

2. John Mayer. Live acoustic version of “Why Georgia.” I wish it was “3x5” because the clouds do indeed look like mountains. 

3.  She apologizes for yawning. “It’s okay. It’s early,” I say. “It’s only early when you’re trying to do too much,” she laughs.  

4. We keep telling each other that everyone seems so nice here. I don’t think we’re imagining it.  

5. Cleaning day. The first one with all the kids gone. Once again, the ordinary acts of being root me.  

6. Feist. Beyoncé. KT Tunstall. 

7. Everything is so saturated. I’m okay with this kind of winter. 

8. Duolingo. 

9. But if I were to describe the colors of the leaves, I don’t think I could find the words that would communicate their intensity. 

10. So much beauty everywhere.  

Ten.Five Hundred & Six

1. I can feel his small hands touching the edge of the bed. It’s almost time to wake up anyway.  

2. I mean to make coffee first but my eye keeps catching all the things left out the night before: glasses and bowls and napkins and empty wine bottles.  

3. Write the to-do list. I need to start waking up before everyone else again.  

4. She asks to come with me on my errands. We buy some pillows and some flowers and persimmons.  

5. She complains that the mask is uncomfortable. It is.  

6. Bucket full of hot water and Murphy’s. I wash down the cabinets and all the doors.  

7. “Transform yourself to transform the world.”  - Emergent Strategy 

8. Like Christopher Robin I’m a little lost.  

9. I mean, I am here. But what happens next? 

10.  “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.” - Pooh

Ten.Four Hundred & Ninety-Seven

1. 4:30.

2. Stomach growling. Where for breakfast? 

3. How much longer until our hunger and sleep cycles adjust? I don’t remember having this problem during my other visits.  

4. The haze is making me think we ought to stay home today.  

5. Tacos and Meadowlark Dairy.

6. The five of us in one room. How many more days to go? At least 4 more. 

7. Hotel laundry room.  

8. First dinner with the new boss. He reminds me so much of my father that it both warms and saddens me.  

9. When will I feel ready? 

10. I need a week’s worth of sleep.  

Ten.Four Hundred & Ninety-Six

1. 4 am. Getting better.

2. He’s hungry. I don’t blame him. Our days have been so odd. Rhythms are non-existent. 

3. Hotel breakfast. The three of them in a both while he and I shop for washers and dryers and try to plan the day. 

4. The kids want to play in an empty house. I want to be out of doors.  

5. The morning light looks like afternoon light because of the smoke from the fires.  

6. Can’t wait for the next open spot. I suggest we head to Muir Beach instead. They don’t want to go but we insist that they’ll love it.  

7. Should have had them take off their socks and shoes. They are caked in wet sand. I actually don’t care.

8. “I’ve never felt so free.” - Dean

9. We haven’t yet pulled away and they already want to know when we can come back.  

10. I have a lot to learn. But that’s why we’re here.  

10.1 “You’re right. In-n-Out is  better than Portillo’s.” - Dash

10.2 The sky is more hazy than when we left this morning. I sign up for text alerts.  

10.3 I keep looking at the listing showing “sold.” It still doesn’t feel real. Maybe once the stuff is here and we’re back in our own car it will set in that this is not just a visit.