A Sentimental Clan

• 5:30 am prayer, meditation, and a plea to God for a return to my curiosities.

• I set my feet between dew-covered grass blades in the front yard as the sun cools and trickles between the branches.

• Kayaking down Bayou St. John. The wind brushes the top of the water as the waves ripple under the middle of the inflated boat. I stop to admire the graffiti under the bridges, apologize to the turtles for the disturbance, and catch a rhythm 'till my arms ache, my back is sweaty, and my soul is happy.

• Shower, fruit, and camp pickup.

• Supper & cuddles.

• A quarter glass of red, a good book, and a soft bed.

• 6:am, four-hour drive to Florida beaches, water parks, and dolphin cruises with an ecstatic Zoe and a sick but resilient Miles.

• Zoe and I bonding late at night: a WNBA game and snacks in the hotel lobby. #chelseagrey

• Carry her back to our room.

• The slight glow of a book light pushes through the darkness until my exhaustion falls into the same night.

• 14-hour road trip to St. Louis to visit family and speak on a literary panel for the urgency and importance of intergenerational conversations/stories.

• We are a sentimental clan: I book the same hotel that was our haven during a Louisiana hurricane five years ago.

• Chuckie Cheese, Shaw Park, Pool floaties & swimming caps made for locs.

• St. Paul sandwiches & Red Hot Ripplets.

• I am annoying my little sister, holding round infant nieces, and embracing smiling grandparents.

• An excellent literary night full of gentle wisdom and robust laughter.

• Road trip Bingo.

• After nearly 12 hours on the road, we finally return to New Orleans.

• I'll unpack the car tomorrow.

• The night is hushed in the hum of our tightly sealed house.

• Damnit...I forgot the cooler.

• Everyone is problematic to a cause.

• Everyone is a hero to a cause.

• Water.

With all my heart…Té