Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Sixty-Seven

1. I needed the extra time and space.

2. Stack logs. Search for lighter. Start a fire.

3. How, after a rain, everything glimmers. Everything is sharper, clearer, more defined.

4. Almost there.

5. I start to think about worst-case scenario and then walk myself back to reality.

6. Two weeks down. 4 more to go.

7. More tri-tip. No one is complaining.

8. Do you root for the local team or for the upset?

9. They are asking questions that surprise me and delight me. I try to hide my excitement.

10. Decisions to be made.

Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Sixty-Six

1. Rain and more rain.

2. I beat the crowd. A box of assorted pastries. A few English muffins for good measure.

3. Coffee on the sofa thinking about all of the reading I need to get done. Thank goodness I finished my paper.

4. Why?

5. Rain and sun and rain and sun. People who don’t know where they’re going.

6. Not at all what I was expecting.

7. Firewood fairy.

8. The quiet in the center of the storm.

9. Races in the rain.

10. I won the raffle!

Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Sixty-Five

1. This morning is better than yesterday.

2. I have to take a break helping him to make sure everyone else is awake.

3. Preparation.

4. New plans need to be made.

5. Here comes the rain again.

6. Candles lit. Clouds gray. House quiet.

7. This weekend: switch their rooms so that he is on the main level and won’t be tempted to use the stairs on his own.

8. More water.

9. Off-menu-local-type things.

10. “But I feel primed for success.”

Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Sixty-Four

1. Is it the coffee? I already know the answer.

2. I rub my eyes and say that it’s just early. I am being patient.

3. They point to two trees that will need to come down. They are tall, maybe 30 or 40 feet and so big there is no way I can wrap my arms around them.

4. I wonder what got that bird. I follow the trail of feathers.

5. A butterfly. And another. Three butterflies. One butterfly smushed against the asphalt.

6. I sit in the car and watch a handful of them throwing a ball around in the field. I’d rather he be here than at home sitting. The fresh air does everybody some good.

7. A good day to take a walk.

8. I’m a fast writer, but I need to be faster today.

9. I want a good meal, so I decide we’ll have risotto with salmon. More creamed spinach since it’s the only way to get them to eat it. It is worth the 30 minutes of stirring. And I timed it perfectly so that everything on the plate is still warm. It’s the little things on days like these.

10. Just a little more time. Please.

Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Sixty-Three

1. Forgot to meditate.

2. Thick fog. Thicker than yesterday. Loud birds. Louder than yesterday.

3. Finally got the oat milk to foam.

4. She’s wearing my jeans again.

5. I didn’t even see her, but she apologizes to me. She thought it was her car. She looks confused. I am just listening to everyone else on the call, wishing I had picked a different part of the parking lot to sit in because I am covered in sunlight and starting to sweat.

6. He shows me a picture of the image, and you can see a chunk of bone that’s separated from the head of the humerus. No driving. No traveling. No using the hand on that arm at all, they say.

7. I eat my lunch and think that I should be more stressed out about this than I am.

8. I had forgotten how good some of the lines are in the song: “Cause it's a hindrance to my health / if I'm a stranger to myself.”

9. I might need that month off after all.

10. I should have taken my walk today.