Ten.Two Thousand, One Hundred & Ninety-Four

1. The soft tweeting of birds outside the window.

2. 140mg.

3. The characteristically cloudy sky. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Baby screams. Their quiet chatter and giggles. Her summer playlist.

4. Spilled tomato soup.

5. I close my eyes and tilt my head toward the sun. I feel different.

6. A beautiful reflection.

7. Newfound freedoms and newfound stresses.

8. “You are all flowers in bloom.”

9. Something’s changed, and some things need changing.

10. Keep counting.

Ten.Two Thousand, One Hundred & Ninety-Three

1. Like clockwork.

2. I feel hungover, but I think it’s just an emotional thing.

3. Seems so much cooler this morning. That should make things easier today.

4. I'm grateful for a few more moments to drink my coffee. Then I remember that I need to check my work emails because it’s not Saturday; it’s only Friday.

5. I watch them throw tulle through the arms of the posts, and it brings a smile to my face. The hardest part is over. We did it.

6. Cobb salad and emails and sunshine interrupted by laughter. I haven’t really eaten in three days.

7. “thank you for the dance i had a lot of fun.”

8. The five of us not sitting in the baseball stands.

9. I wish I could have bottled up those feelings.

10. A tour of gratitude.

Ten.Two Thousand, One Hundred & Ninety-Two

1. Today’s the day.

2. They all stop in front of the bench for the obligatory last-day-of-school photo without any complaint. Growth in different ways.

3. The last school drop-off with everyone in the car.

4. He’s awfully friendly for so early in the morning, but it’s a good way to start the day.

5. Balloons, cotton candy, popcorn, hamburgers, hot dogs, shaved ice. Twinkly lights. Summer breezes.

6. This might be the longest three hours I’ve had in a long time.

7. I think everyone is happy.

8. I keep losing my phone.

9. I tell her that I’m just so glad that I got to do it with them. The magic comes from the work of a good core crew.

10. 32 minutes to take this test.

Ten.Two Thousand, One Hundred & Ninety-One

1. Battery low.

2. Mentally preparing for another hot one.

3. Second to last day. I let him drive to school. it’s just the two of us. Probably one of the last times we will make this trip to the high school together.

4. I think I figured it out. I think I might have actually figured it out.

5. This season is going to be a rough one. It’s only the first week of June.

6. When I get home, I can hear the planes flying overhead. The fire is close, but not that close. I can feel a little bit of my anxiety creeping in.

7. So sweaty.

8. It will all be worth it in the end. At least I get to do it with this group of moms that know how to get things done.

9. Black balloons, veggie burgers, the machine.

10. When am I going to get that done?

Ten.Two Thousand, One Hundred & Ninety

1. Long but short.

2. You can tell by the way the morning sky looks that it’s going to be hot. You can see it, and you can feel it.

3. Don’t ask questions; express gratitude.

4. Taking in all of the beauty, trying to stay present, and not thinking about the emails that still need to be done.

5. Will I regret taking emails instead of taking a seat for lunch?

6. Water, water, and more water.

7. When it’s the end of the day, and the brain just isn’t working anymore. When you start to think that you must be going mad because nothing is making sense.

8. He seems happy, which makes me happy.

9. There is so, so much to do.

10. “I don’t know whether it was a divine stupidity or a great faith that made them do it…. It is argued that because they believed thoroughly in a just, moral God they could put their faith there and let the smaller securities take care of themselves as individuals, because they knew beyond a doubt that they were valuable and potentially moral units—because of these they could give God their own courage and dignity and then receive it back.” - East of Eden