Ten.One Thousand, Eight Hundred & Eighty-Four

1. This time of year when the sunrise slips through the little v of the valley.

2. Not quite as early as I’d like to be.

3. She asks me if I’m still not drinking coffee. I tell her no. I tell her that I’m trying to get better at managing my intake: more oat milk, start later, eat a better breakfast first.

4. I ask who’s going to do the work. January isn’t that far away.

5. Like a thousand cuts.

6. I keep thinking I’m really clear about the task at hand but the questions persist.

7. I pace in the parking lot, kicking up dust as my feet push the gravel around. I am honest with my thoughts. Clear and direct. I just want clarity. “I don’t care what it is, I just need to know what it is.”

8. Somehow, we’ll have to manifest a path forward.

9. The loudest game I’ve been to in quite some time. Cross-town rivalry at its finest.

10. A later night than usual. Gott’s. Parents with salads and burgers and wine. Girls with fries and milkshakes.

11. Gratitudes.