Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Seventy-Three

1. There’s not supposed to be an alarm going off right now.

2. A little more time.

3. Hot coffee on the back patio, listening to the water feature and watching the ripples in the water in the canal behind the house.

4. Tiny lizards.

5. Seashell hunting.

6. This is beautiful, but I love my Pacific Coast more.

7. “Dreams are central to the history of epistemology because they are a nightly reminder that we are inhabited by otherness at our core.” - An Alphabet for Dreamers

8. The juicy orange.

9. He says to pick the Dom or the Cristal because that’s all he has that goes with the sea bass, but I choose the Moët because we should wait for a few others who might appreciate it, too.

10. Bogle on Netflix.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Seventy-Two

1. So afraid of missing my alarm that I end up not really sleeping anyway.

2. I still can’t find my glasses.

3. He’s early. He clearly takes this very seriously. And he’s not talking, so I give him five stars.

4. When you get to the airport at 4 a.m. and have to wait until 4:30 a.m. for Peet’s to open, then you take a sip of your coffee and realize it doesn’t even taste good.

5. You know you’re not in California anymore when you walk by three airport bars, candy shops, fried chicken, burgers, Italian beefs, and have to buy a salad from the Home Run Inn pizza stand.

6. Empty threats.

7. I want to sleep, but I also want to finish this paper, so I ask for another cup of complimentary airplane coffee, which tastes much better than the Peet’s I paid for, and try to write.

8. Just the four of us.

9. This is a really nice view.

10. Soft water.

11. It feels like home even though I’ve never been here before.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Seventy-One

1. Okay. This morning is really the last one. But I kind of like these short, early-morning talks.

2. Today is the real rest day.

3. All of the options are less than ideal, but which one will make you less angry?

4. Sad. Just sad. Sad for her. Sad for the state of things in this place. Not really worth it.

5. The first good sign is that he’s on time.

6. He’s painting his wall, cleaning up the scuff marks, and camouflaging areas where the drywall had been pulled away. We talk about the plants on his windowsill and how they’ve invited the spiders.

7. Details.

8. Magnums of Billecart. Guigal. Sauvignon musque clone, of course. Tench family since 1977. String lights and tiny candles. Familiaf faces and new ones. The guy who makes the nachos. Yes, more of this please.

9. Oh, this is what I have missed about Napa Valley — about being in wine in Napa Valley. And aren’t we the luckiest?

10. Maybe I can get 3 hours of sleep. Maybe 2.

Ten. Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Seventy

1. Last 6 a.m. practice of the season, I say as encouragement for him to get moving.

2. Not budging.

3. So many headlights heading our direction, so early in the morning.

4. I tell her that I keep thinking that I’m one conversation away from changing my life.

5. Rolling my eyes on the inside.

6. Done in time to join them for lunch, thank goodness.

7. I ask him if he ever thought that when he grew up, he’d spend his time deciding whether the paper should be white or cream.

8. Bring all the good vibes.

9. Numbers.

10. I never feel it while I’m doing it—it’s always after.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Nine

1. These weird dream scenes. No rest.

2. I remember my flashlight this time.

3. Voice memos on the morning drive.

4. She tells me that we can recreate the Yung Lean video. I promise her it will go viral. It would be so funny.

5. A parent practice?

6. Finally, the announcement.

7. We’re just going to pretend like he didn’t make this mistake. I giggle to myself.

8. He says it’s too early to lose my voice. I need it for basketball.

9. Where has this team been all season?

10. I’m going to have to tell her that I still haven’t had the conversation yet.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Eight

1. Little snippets of dreams. Driving north through Milwaukee, only to realize we should have been heading south to Los Angeles. Work conversations.

2. I don’t think I’m sleeping well without my mouthguard. Where in the world is it?

3. It’s so dark, I have to use the flashlight on my phone to see the road.

4. The Spotify DJ begins the set with “Chihiro,” and I turn it up. This is the only song that, when it comes on, you turn it up.

5. Yes, she’s right. We live in a beautiful place. Mornings are like walking through a series of paintings. Some people’s commute is through the industrial streets of Milwaukee. We have mountains and hot air balloons.

6. He asks me if I’m okay. Yes. Are you really? Yes.

7. Witches on retainer.

8. Last week before I get a little break.

9. It’s like there’s no room for truth.

10. All that work, and now I finally have a copy in my hands. Not ready yet, but so close.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Seven

1. A little bit of morning light.

2. Warm, orangey glow in the living room. I tell her I know it’s going to be hot based on the color of the light.

3. Man, I need another massage. Or a float. Or both.

4. Hank Hill and his complicated relationship with his father and son.

5. Trying not to think of how many hours of the day are left, and instead just live them.

6. Closet clean-out.

7. Headache nap.

8. On the other side of the card, the word “Truth.”

9. Is it the contacts? Is it just my eyes? A combination of both?

10. 28 days.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Six

1. Saturday. I need more sleep.

2. Already so warm.

3. I pick the community table and set out the packets. A cup of half-caff-half-decaf and a bacon-and-cheddar scone.

4. He’s excited. She’s excited. I’m excited. We’re all excited, and that means it’s going to be another good season. Twenty-nine days.

5. Prepared, selfless, joyful.

6. This is the most I’ve seen him all week. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed him. He’s here, but he’s not here.

7. Outlining the fake case I need to create. I choose Hank Hill. Surely, there’s enough to work with here.

8. They’re off the menu, but she says she’ll make them for me anyway. Sweating while drinking rosé and eating salad. Even in the shade, there’s not much respite.

9. Nap.

10. What in the what?

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Five

1. Consistency.

2. Watching the color of the morning.

3. I round the curve, and that last bit of fog is thinning, and the sunrise is breaking through the trees, and it looks like a dream. Or like a Thomas Cole painting.

4. He’s a no-show again, and that means I need to find another option.

5. Oooops.

6. I leave the meeting less angry than I thought I would be, which adds to my good mood when I meet him for lunch. Pulled mozzarella and insalata de pollo. A lemonade. It’s been too long.

7. I stop in the olive oil shop to buy oil and vinegar for my lunch salads—and to talk about the kid. A dad walks in, overhears me talking about my basketball team, and says I need to convince his daughter to play. I walk through the screen door, feeling full of gratitude.

8. This isn't anything I ever dreamed of for myself, but I love so much of it.

9. I tell him that all of my meetings went so well today. Just great, really.

10. Really can’t beat these football sunsets.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Four

1. October 1.

2. Core and very slow walk. Reminding myself that the only way to get better is to actually rest.

3. The light!

4. I stop to get a salad. I start to walk up and see a line of people. Well, it’s Thursday, and it’s after 8:30 in the morning. I turn around and decide there’s no time to wait.

5. Better remember to take off the pink Crocs.

6. Practice just enough to leave them wanting more. Pockets of motivation. Start from where they are. Don’t obsess over the gap. Make commitments instead of goals. Process. How do we create an environment where the game teaches the game?

7. He really hates this idea.

8. I didn’t think they would tell us the name. But they have. And we have a timeframe, and I don’t know if I feel better or worse.

9. Now that it’s Thursday, it feels like Wednesday.

10. Ugh.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Three

1. Rest day.

2. I miss this kind of open morning time when I used to start my days with ease.

3. More sushi. Keep it light.

4. Down an amigo today.

5. Not seeing what you want, but hoping it comes at some point.

6. Actually, this is what I enjoy doing the most.

7. His excitement about it all makes me excited too.

8. The problem is, it doesn’t hurt when I’m doing it. It’s only after.

9. Another bowl of ice cream — but a smaller one.

10. Tomorrow is already October.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-Two

1. I’m going to get out of bed on time today.

2. If the sale of the store means a better-functioning POS, then I’m here for that, too.

3. More pink?

4. Building heat.

5. A little bit of pleasure from three women telling a man that it’s incredibly offensive to tell a woman to smile more.

6. One dead bird. Two malfunctioning computer screens.

7. I thought I was coming as a spectator, but here I am behind the scorer’s table, doing the books for the middle school game. The ref asks me if I’m still coaching basketball. Yes, of course. He tells me I’m going to have a good group of players coming in next year.

8. I’ve seen these faces before.

9. Peanut Butter Campfire.

10. Tongue still feels burnt.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty-One

1. Headache.

2. I don’t wanna. But I know I’ll regret it if I don’t.

3. “I train like I’ve never won. And I compete like I’ve never lost.” - Eileen Gu

4. OMG. It’s after 8 a.m., and I’m still not in the shower yet.

5. She says that this is the latest I’ve ever shown up to work. But I had a headache. I almost didn’t want to come at all.

6. Lunchtime is the best time.

7. I don’t even know what to say.

8. But you’re lying.

9. Dinner in the Grove. 2017 J. Schram Rosé; 2011 J. Schram Rosé; 2017 J. Schram Blancs; 2007 J. Schram, Late Disgorged; 2017 J. Schram Noirs; 2004 Schram Reserve, Late Disgorged; 2023 J. Davies Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain; 2007 J. Davies Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain; 2022 J. Davies Estate “Jaime”, Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain; 2012 J. Davies Estate “Jaime”, Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain

10. I should skip the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Sixty

1. A runny nose?!

2. I bet someone in the stadium breathed on me.

3. Those two bird body prints in the window.

4. Bone broth for sipping.

5. I open up my palms, tell him he’s holding these gifts, and that he just needs to take them.

6. Back to bed for a nap, trying to sleep this cold away.

7. Wishing for a second Saturday. Reminding myself that I have some time away coming soon; save the PTO for another day.

8. Will they realize we didn’t get the groceries today?

9. Are we shocked? Yes. And no.

10. Halloween Baking Championship.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Fifty-Nine

1. 6:48. I’ll take it.

2. No sun yet. A little bit of coffee.

3. Nothing but wisdom.

4. “Connected, prepared, joyful.” “We should never know who your best friend is.”

5. “I’ll always call her ‘coach’”.

6. It’s not hot, but this sun. I am never dressed right for these games.

7. “Keep him in the cage.”

8. I should have made her go to the dance anyway.

9. The best $30 I’ve ever spent.

10. “Causation flows in both directions.” For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Fifty-Six

1. Rest day. Rest day!

2. Waiting to see if he gets up so I can get in the shower.

3. Cup o’ noodles really hitting the spot, even in 80-something degrees.

4. Oh no. I watch him lift the photographer over the fence. Now I have to say something.

5. I knew I shouldn’t have worn this sweater.

6. He’s being so weird.

7. Schramsberg. Shrimp cocktail. Crunch Squash. Little Gem salad. Massican Annia for dessert.

8. I don’t usually yell at people from the car, but I can with her.

9. Should I eat one of those burgers?

10. Falling asleep while writing sentences.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Fifty-Five

1. No legs.

2. Don’t forget your gratitude.

3. Why is she always walking in the middle of the street?

4. I open the umbrella and find a slice of sun on the bench. Perfect, perfect weather.

5. What time is it?

6. No! Don’t put it in Chat.

7. She tells me that she’s so lucky because she loves her job. She really loves her job.

8. Whenever they use my first name, it always throws me off.

9. She says that this is so nice. That it has such a community feel. That it’s so sweet that the parents do this for the kids.

10. Acquisition vs. Accessibility. Knowing what to do vs. being able to do it when it matters most.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Fifty-Four

1. The beginning of the end. No light during the morning walk.

2. A slice of sprouted grain bread and a very thin layer of dry almond butter.

3. The color of mulled wine.

4. A headache day.

5. The cruelty. What a dark heart.

6. He calls us bright lights. No, you are.

7. “…it’s how other people feel when you do what you do…”

8. I want a cup o’ noodles.

9. Why does it have to be so hard?

10. No dreams tonight, please.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Fifty-Three

1. Nooooo. The contact is torn. Headache.

2. That time of year when I’m lying on my back doing a spinal twist and I see just how dirty the windows are, but I know that winter is coming, so there’s no point in getting them washed now.

3. Maybe a solution?

4. I want so many things. Many are competing. This is an energetic drain.

5. This show is crazy.

6. I take him to the gym. Solo work today because he knows he doesn’t want to go all out with the adults.

7. I forget that he can be funny at times.

8. The ice cream didn’t come.

9. Flow.

10. Just a few more weeks.

Ten.Two Thousand, Seven Hundred & Fifty-Two

1. A late start.

2. Saturday, but wishing it were Friday. Can we add another day between Saturday and Sunday?

3. Feedback is information.

4. I stick my finger in the middle of the clay and begin. Here we go.

5. I let out a deep sigh, and she asks me what’s wrong. I tell her it’s just that I wish I could do this more often.

6. You see them do it, and then you wonder why it seems like it’s so hard.

7. The same thing over and over and over again.

8. It’s the layering of everything.

9. There is no such thing as catching up on sleep.

10. 2026-2031.