Flat-white sky. Long stretch of quiet before the noise of the day began. I gave the boys some long past-due allowance and took them on an expedition to buy a birthday present and a little self-indulgence. Came home with new nerf guns and legos. Gus played his first soccer game in the afternoon on a field surrounded by housing project buildings in various stages of abandonment. Happiness came to me in the rush of rain across the field and the forgotten sweetness of watching Gus move.