“How can she possibly be one month?” I asked Nate on Monday. “Where did the month go? What have we done?”

“Look under your eyes,” he said. “There’s your answer.”

—–

Later that day I was taking Sage on a needed walk around the neighborhood when I was approached by two cheerful students with clipboards, the types soliciting donations for some charity or another. The young man turned on the smile and headed in my direction with forceful determination,just as Sage started to do the diaper change squirm.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just can’t right now.”

“That’s okay,” he said. “You look like you could use a shower.”

Oppressive fatigue has its benefits