Ten.Two Thousand, Three Hundred & Fifty-Six

1. Monday. Monday.

2. Staring longingly at my fireplace.

3. This car locking and unlocking thing is getting to be a bit much.

4. Fingers digging around the candy bowls for

5. Shoulders up by my ears.

6. New records.

7. What happens tomorrow will be a result of what happens today.

8. How is next week the last week of school before break? How is Christmas only two weeks away? I blame the sunshine and 70 degrees.

9. If only he saw in himself what we see in him. And truly believed it.

10. Lean into your strengths.

Ten.Two Thousand, Three Hundred & Fifty-Five

1. I tell him that waking up after a win hits different.

2. Slow Sunday. And I don’t have to make dinner.

3. Mountain Lion. Leadership. “The first responsibility of leadership is to tell the truth.” “It is the understanding that all beings are potential leaders in their own way.” “Balance POWER, INTENTION, STRENGTH, and GRACE.”

   Bear. Introspection. “Regain your authority.” “Reclaim the power of knowing.” “Use your strengths to overcome your weaknesses and know that both are necessary for your evolution. “DREAM YOUR DREAMS and OWN THEM.”

   Coyote. Trickery. “When was the last time you did something just because it was crazy and fun?”

4. Hot, hot fire.

5. Scouting. Setting goals for us the week. I never don’t think we can win.

6. I find the cacao because I am out of the decaf pods and just need something warm. I need my routine.

7. Even he noticed it watching from thousands of miles away. Why isn’t he more aggressive? What is he afraid of?

8. I grab a second plate because the thing about game days is that I have a hard time eating because of my nerves. And three straight days of games means very little for dinner and a very hungry woman.

9. Maybe that kind of anger will fuel him.

10. This is a thing I know I can do well.

Ten.Two Thousand, Three Hundred & Fifty-Four

1. A good sleep-in.

2. Game-day outfit - red-and-white-striped sweater, flare jeans. Final day. A good day.

3. He starts the bacon. I find the box of coffeecake mix. I can’t find my appetite, though.

4. There are more pages than I thought there would be.

5. The best seat in the house is the scorer’s table. The most stressful seat in the house is…the scorer’s table.

6. In my notes, the word “scream.”

7. Better.

8. 2nd place. 2-1 for this tournament. One down, one more to go.

9. I show her a picture of a painting of Louis XIV because when I meant he didn’t look like he’s from this century, this is what I meant.

10. Exhausted in the best way possible.

Ten.Two Thousand, Three Hundred & Fifty-Three

1. Why did I pick this one?

2. The sky is a weird color: blue and pink and orange. Like a fire sky.

3. He asks me if I felt the earthquake. No, but I never do. Then I hear the alerts for tsunami warnings. Seven-point-somethings are not small at all.

4. Hanger steak and french fries and a glass of wine for game-day lunch.

5. It feels like this is more complicated than it needs to be.

6. I know why she’s calling.

7. “…. We are ourselves good fortune.”

8. Exactly what we needed. Maybe we found the right words to unlock it.

9. Snapped the streak. Finally.

10. Back at it tomorrow.

Ten.Two Thousand, Three Hundred & Fifty-Two

1. One more day.

2. Body weight only.

3. There’s only one slice left, so why not?

4. Knowing it won’t work, but trying anyway.

5. Distracted by the hummingbird feeding on the flower. How cool is it to see, in December, a flower in bloom and a hummingbird flitting about in the sunshine?

6. Giving oneself permission to let it run its course.

7. The right kind of soreness.

8. I tell him that sometimes all you can do is laugh. Because, after all, they’re here to have a good time.

9. It’s not the work, it’s the people.

10. It’s always about the people.