Ten.Two Thousand, Two Hundred & Forty-Seven

1. The world will not end if I miss a day.

2. Two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Cherries and grapes. Pretzels and goldfish. Beef sticks.

3. As we head out of town, five hot air balloons dot the horizon. I smile to myself. The car is quiet.

4. I tell them that they’ll never see the girls again in their life. They just need to learn.

5. Too much coffee.

6. I take notes in between my mandated reporter training.

7. But they really did mean “elite.”

8. STANDARDS.

9. Sometimes, I’m happy when this happens.

10. 93 days.

Ten. Two Thousand, Two Hundred & Forty-Six

1. Thurrrrrsday.

2. An extra kid who needs to wake up for football today. What time is everyone supposed to be out of here?

3. “The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.” - The Creative Act: A Way of Being

4. What is my way of being?

5. What do I need in order to feel like my best self?

6. When you see the fruits of your labor long after you’re gone.

7. I’m just glad they removed the uppercase.

8. I can hear the car slow down beside me and then drive by slowly. He makes a left. I know that’s a dead end. I make my way back to the main road and am a third of the way back when I see the same car stop beside with the window down. I am talking to her while trying to tell him that I’m not interested in talking. She asks me what’s going on. “If you don’t hear from me: gray Prius. Man with a beard. Sunglasses. I didn’t get the plates,” I laugh. But I probably shouldn’t.

9. She says no one has ever done it before, and it did not go unnoticed.

10. It’s all coming together. Maybe.

Ten.Two Thousand, Two hundred & Forty-Five

1. I should get up.

2. Is there enough bacon? Enough waffles? Bagels for them, morning pages for me.

3. So cold I need a sweater. Fall is almost here.

4. She laughs about my rigidness about time.

5. I’m glad I stayed on the phone with her. Just like the old days.

6. It is a lot, but not impossible to do.

7. They say it’s so slow. It almost sounds like every time we come, they say it’s slower than before. The businesses in town are suffering, they say. The vendors demand that they purchase quantities that don’t make any sense for their small business. Suffering.

8. Just say the thing.

9. Enchanting.

10. If you’re not inside, you’re still late. Still late.

Ten.Two Thousand, Two Hundred & Forty-Four

1. Tired.

2. Wolf and Alligator.

3. It’s only Tuesday. But also, it’s already the end of July.

4. I want to pick up the bird wing but I know I probably shouldn’t.

5. I decide to take a right. There is a grandmother and grandfather playing with a small child in the front yard. Wiffle ball and bat. The yard is lined with roses. They are the only thing I hear.

6. I think I’ve figured it out. Nothing is wrong, but nothing is right. I am the problem. But at least I know that I am.

7. Invisible walls.

8. I didn’t even get to break in the hammock first.

9. Oh, this is so weird. Another new life stage.

10. A full table.

Ten.Two Thousand, Two Hundred & Forty-Three

1. Cool, gray Monday morning.

2. Real talk. At least, it’s an attempt at real talk.

3. I start to think about crawling back into my bed with my coffee and my computer, but I know I must go.

4. They are having fun, but it’s loud.

5. I find my way all the way down to the end of the road. Ah, that’s where that is. I wonder who owns that. Another road; I’ll walk that one next time.

6. My to-do list is almost done.

7. I did not expect that today. But it doesn’t matter. This is all practice, anyway. Everything is a practice.

8. Everything is a practice.

9. It’s all starting to feel normal again.

10. It will be here before we know it.