a quiet household
while the babies enjoy sun
(i worked to earn this)

my potatoes pop
in the first hot day of May
(we all love sunshine)

a quiet household
while the babies enjoy sun
(i worked to earn this)

my potatoes pop
in the first hot day of May
(we all love sunshine)

today we survived
a line that led to nowhere
(we’re safer at home)

together, apart:
this is how they live with me
sharing, not sharing


I went to the grocery store today, and I don’t want to write about the nightmare I had last night where no one was wearing a mask.
Could you imagine, three months ago, having a nightmare about people not wearing masks in Target?
Actually, King Soopers was well-stocked today. Everyone I saw had a mask on. People at 8:30am obeyed the one-way aisle rules, and best of all? I stayed within my budget.
I made a budget for my post-work husband, starting at the beginning of May. $200 a week. It may sound extraordinarily excessive, but we’ve got six mouths to feed, and these are American prices, after all.
But I bought extras today. This bugleweed. A roll of packaging tape. And sushi because fuck Wednesday cooking.


And, my nightmares should end soon.
Because my post-work husband got a job, a non-union, non-seniority-screws-you job, doing exactly what he’s great at and wants to do forever, in the midst of a pandemic.
And.
And you can call it what you want. White privilege. True. Luck. Absolutely. Divine intervention. Maybe.
Or just… fate. The fate that led him through the Air Force to me, that led the boy to our doorstep, that led three beautiful daughters into our home, that led his previous experience to him becoming the best candidate out of all the others being laid off.

Coronatine, day sixty-one. It’s a beautiful image filled with pets, hope, and love.
And I want to hold on to this non-nightmare feeling for as long as I can.


And.
This cat was born to be a model. Good night.
we’re stepping outside
into this beautiful yard
to celebrate love

it’s a bit risky
and only sixty degrees.
but it’s Mother’s Day.

each girl made a card
and worked to include this boy
in conversations



it’s as good as weeds
ripped from choking my garden
so beauty can breathe



we flew this beach kite
on this day seven years back
(a dream in life, Spain)

my daughter, then ten
still finding joy in small things
(as i still try to)

aspen trees at dawn
a pup always by my side
cats learning to love


the kite is gone now.
(i have ransacked every room)
locked down, we let go.
until they close this
we might be here every day
(Colorado beach)

humans love water
in all its fake and true forms
(dams, no dams, fresh, salt)

our Friday night lights
makes this feel like our old life
as fresh as sunshine


we’re climbing walls here
as boredom reaches new heights
on day forty-five

bike rides and cuddles
(made it through another day)
pets will save us all





my perfect birthday,
in my mind, pre-corona,
would never be this



(there might be mountains,
a fondue restaurant, views
not in the background)

but with so much time
and simply nowhere to go
love works its way in




my middle’s painting,
a dress hand sewn by my mom,
hand-dipped strawberries

and saved till tonight
my oldest breaks, repairs me
with this card; her words

my perfect birthday
brought to me by a virus
with two gifts: Time. Love.