Ten.Two Thousand & Forty-Seven
Finally Friday. And it’s game day.
It’s also “Watch More Women’s Basketball” shirt day.
Being happy on my way to happy.
We are both standing outside of the gym doors. She has earbuds in her ears. I have a phone in my hand. “Who plans a tournament that starts at 9 a.m. on a Friday?” “I know, right?! I’m trying to watch these last 12.7 seconds before I get on this call.”
This is the boy I remember.
“Who’s taking me to practice?” A multiple-kid kind of question - a question I am asked way too frequently.
In my daydream, I am giving all of them a hug because look at how lucky I am.
He drives. He sleeps. I stare at the landscape as we crawl northward home under these beautiful blue skies. I believe the word he used was “chaparral.” Now I see some old redwoods. Now I see the sign for the farmer’s market. Now I see everything.
I could be overstepping, but I basically tell him that this isn’t worth it.
A table of six for the night. A table full of laughs. A table full of kids that are and aren’t my own. A table full of conversation. Oh my goodness, this is what my life is. I want to hug them all.
The smell of microwave popcorn.
