Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Sixty-Two
Thick fog and bird chirps.
Bacon and potatoes. He makes toast instead.
The Spotify DJ says it’s going to play a mix of what I usually listen to on Tuesdays. He turns down the Britney Spears as we pull into the school parking lot.
I look down at my text messages during the meeting. He says he’s in the ER. Fell at the gas station. I know exactly what happened. I think back to my high school science teacher and her two broken arms.
Today’s lunchtime walk is less bitter than yesterday's.
A cluster of poppies, open and bright and alive.
Not enough time today.
Can I hop the fence? I can’t hop the fence. She laughs at me. I hop the fence.
I’ll figure it out.
“Have an ambition.”
Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Sixty-One
5:30 he said. He will be up soon, too.
Why is everyone always eating their breakfast in the car?
“I did learn something,” he says. “What’s that?”
Poppies.
I tell her that it’s very bitter today.
Black-eyed Peas. I am transported back to the Express in the Overland Park Mall. The store manager is of below-average height for a man with short blond hair, glasses, and braces. He asks me why I didn’t have any credit card sales that day. I tell him I don’t believe in pushing debt onto people. I laugh. I guess I’ve always been a bit defiant. Random memories.
3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. 5:15 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. Somewhere in between all of this I will make dinner.
So. many. words.
“Phenomenological.” I count the syllables on my hand.
Just a few bites.
Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Sixty
Slow beginnings.
Each time I look at the clock, I am surprised by how much time has passed.
It’s going to be one of those games, I see.
I tell him that I like reading, that I find it interesting. He looks at his friend and tells him I’m crazy.
I drag the chair into the sun and settle in, rolling up my pant legs to feel the heat on my skin.
I am going to finish this before the family call. I will. I will.
Headache. Dehydrated? Allergies? Too much reading on the screen? All of the above?
Learn something new every day.
Chicken pot pie.
I did it.
Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Fifty-Nine
Is it already time?
Hotel room coffee while waiting for them to finish getting ready.
We drive to the grocery store. The roads have many lanes. In the distance are green rolling hills and a hazy morning sky. It makes me miss East Bay living for just a moment. Quiet, suburban, clean, and almost sterile feel familiar and easy.
Glorious sun.
Keep your expectations low and be open to being surprised.
A bit of a reality check that many of these kids probably needed to hear.
The thing is that we still have time. There is still plenty of time.
I will retreat this meal.
Forgot how much I love “Hopelessly Devoted.”
Two glasses of Massican Annia, fried cauliflower, french fries with black truffle, and thinking about neutrons.
Ten.One Thousand, One Hundred & Fifty-Eight
The wind.
Still not over this little flower arrangement and the way it glows in the morning light.
I make the bacon but forget to make the potatoes. He says something about the texture of the smoothie again. “Raspberry seeds and protein powder, this time,” I say.
There is just a lot that needs to get done today.
Almost laughable.
He says he doesn’t like it, but he’s always smiling as he walks off the field.
Just the four of us and a lot of red meat and a lot of laughter.
Portugal?
I think this is the right thing to do.
I’ll survive.