In the morning I'll write a whole paragraph about Emily's red and black barette and the dirt in her fingernails I tried not to notice when she wouldn't let me teach her how to tell time. "When my Mom gets her tax return she's going to get me that barette from family dollar," she said.

Driving to the dentist in the rain I used my horn so I wouldn't get rear ended. After I parked and walked up the stairs to the door I passed a man watching the demolition of a building across the street.

My dad is still sniffling and he can't eat too much cayenne pepper because it's too strong. I revert to a child and hit myself between the eyes with the end of a pencil while I file my taxes. "You're getting money for this you have to do it. Stop acting like that," Mom says.

Coming home and organizing the porch with that cigarette

putting up pictures

the year of the dragon is my year