Miracle Workers

Chocolate chip pancakes and milk on Sundays

Couch naps

Spring daylight savings

The paycheck after the one that covers the rent

Book club meetings at Chumley’s where the beer flows like wine

Still getting mix CDs from a boy, long after it stopped being cool

Doodling in a work notebook during a meeting and not getting caught

Not getting caught in general; in the rain, sneaking out early, zoning out

Bleached tile, a potent air freshener, clean socks on wooden floors

Saying or seeing Pomeranians, pomegranates, pom-poms

Head massages with that wire thing at the mall kiosk

The imperceptible shift from intimidated to intimidating

Second drafts and second chances

Concert tickets, restaurant reservations, any activity planned by someone else

The touch of new suede, old leather or puppies

Cracking open the seal of the shampoo bottle, the orange juice jug, the packaging of something expensive and electronic

The zoo on a cool day, Cirque de Soleil, a dark lawn in summer, an aquarium anytime

A working pen and a working mind

The hour before the alarm goes off, the minute after the job is offered, the second before the first kiss…