Week in Seven Words #481

fed
The baby is replete with slices of banana. He reclines on his dad's lap and accepts the mushy offerings from his mom.

fuzziness
What does my health insurance plan cover? The customer service representatives don't always seem to know. They offer optimistic but uncertain responses.

glowing
A lumpy black tree - it glows with dark warmth like a coal.

nightfall
A peach gray sunset over the river. Blossoms imprinted on it like stars.

pleaser
They exclaim over a Portuguese water dog, which flutters at their attention and seeks their patting hands.

roughhouse
Two girls roughhousing. Shoves, handstands, shouts, laughter.

undermined
"I don't get it," she says. Then, as I explain, her eyes seek the ceiling, the surface of the desk, her phone, her nails. "I don't get it," she says.

Week in Seven Words #352

attend
For the first time in a while, I give her a kiss on the cheek. I try to pay more attention to her anecdotes.

charitable
Bags of clothing mushroom out of the donation bin.

glisten
Sunset spattering peach and gold on the river.

improvise
She builds a zip line for her dolls, just because. This is one of the pleasures of childhood, the project launched on a whim after you've finished your homework.

outmaneuver
He's almost one. He's got a healthy baby face. As such, he needs to keep ducking away from people who screech Those cheeks! and dive in with their pincers.

source
She dozes off at the table and starts humming "Frosty the Snowman." When she wakes up, she asks where the music came from. A radio? No, it's not the right season for carols. Was it us, singing?

sunk
In a voice that bears a full freight of disappointment, he lists what he thinks is wrong with the world. The words are like stones thrown into my stomach.

Week in Seven Words #283

disengage
She walks ahead of the rest of us, and I understand the mood she's in - restless, unwilling to talk, needing to feel like she's floating free.

dump
Between the chainlink fence and the water is a zone of discarded objects: a pink Disney princess balloon, a bike wheel, green bottles and a soccer ball.

lava
Volcanic colors of sunset over small gray buildings.

lurch
An email I expected arrives. Even though I sensed that something like it was coming, it's no less disappointing.

scalpels
Skyscrapers like silver blades cutting into the night.

squandering
Half an hour gets sucked away on a TV show where people make petty, poorly thought out decisions and end their night drunk and brawling.

watercraft
We walk past the yachts in the marina and marvel at their features, like the hot tubs and lounge chairs. "Which one is yours?" she asks, grinning. I tell her that mine isn't a yacht. It's a leaky rowboat. The amenities include a bucket to bail out water.

Hudson River Sunset

From a walk a few weeks ago, several miles along the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan.