The barista yesterday, as he took my order he commented that it was beginning to feel like fall outside. I didn’t know. I told him that back home it is sweltering hot yet. So very different.

Mamas are meant to redeem the time. But how do we redeem something that hasn’t yet been spent? We are learning how to dog-ear time’s passing with life lived in such a way that the clock’s ticking will never erase it.

We redeem time by restoring its potential for beauty.

“We goin’ on a date, Mommy?”

I back out of the driveway onto an unfamiliar road, and set my GPS to a park we do not know. I’m praying for a mountain view.

I can’t find him. I hear his cry, still such a new sound to me. He’s weeks old, and I hear him in distress. My heart is now in full panic.

I rock the chair front to back. Your eyes remain locked on mine, blue orbs swaying left to right within pools of white, dancing in perfect cadence to our rocking. I can’t believe I almost missed this.

A collaboration of writers. A collage of pieces focused on one weekly prompt. A five-minute challenge to write raw and exposed. Completely unedited. Magnificently honest.

This Week’s Prompt: Learn