I'm finally able to find some peace to write you. My older daughter, Ellery (now 4), emerges from bed like she was shot out of a cannon. Wild circus energy, mouth moving a mile a minute. She says all kinds of fantastic, ridiculous things, and once my coffee kicks in I'll laugh about it later. Her best one of this month so far: Dad, I don't know how to get to Sesame Street. They never tell me... Maybe we can find it on a map?" 

Her younger sister, Simone (2 in a couple of months), is far more subdued by comparison. Her words are fewer. For a while now she has taken on a strange mantra: "Cookie Egg". Initially the phrase emerged as a question (Dada... cookie egg?) and we were convinced it signaled hunger, but she'd dismiss my proposed snacks with an indifferent wave. Weeks later, I'm no closer to understanding the mystery of these simple, incongruous words. An utterance that will fill a long silence on a drive (Dada. Yes, Simone?? Cookie. Egg.). I'll look out across the bay from I-80, contemplating the tiny prophet's lesson for the day. At other moments, the phrase seems to simply suggest that all is right in her world (on a park swing, a pleasant knowing glance at me and a content whisper: Cookie Egg...). 


We tell stories, try to connect. Observations and anecdotes about people from our pasts, peculiar passerbys, neighbors with cats. Max's little dog and my two little daughters. These Thursday musings have always been more letters than news, I suppose. And some weeks, when the world is still - or sent sideways - I don't always have the words. Nor a memory that resonates with the wind or the weather. Dry January and closed bars and a persistent pandemic haven't helped. There is news to come and announcements to be made in good time, but I also like receiving random texts or surprise emails, even when folks have little to say. A video clip of one's kid hearing Freddie Mercury for the first time. A silly screengrab. A bit of good news. A photo of your dog in an ill-fitting sweater. Or a "look who I ran into!" pic. A news article about aliens. An audio clip of your kid playing a song they wrote. Some simple message to say we're still connected. We still know each other. Or we did. And we can.

Cookie egg,

Daniel