J. Cunningham

6:30 a.m. – Yay! The sun is up which means the baby didn’t wake me up before 6. Before I open my eyes, I can usually tell what time it is based on traffic outside. We live on a busy but tree lined street in Mt. Airy in Northwest Philly. I nurse the baby, who sleeps between my husband and I, for a bit and then get up, get dressed and head downstairs. The baby and I cuddle on the couch and watch Trash Truck. 

7:00 a.m. – My 7-year-old wakes up and comes downstairs very excited for us all to eat the blueberry muffins she made the day before. We cuddle on the couch under a cozy blanket and watch Polly Pocket. Despite it being August, it’s been chilly outside the last few mornings, giving us hope for an early fall. We chat about school starting next week and our excitement for apple picking, and winter/fall holidays and birthdays.

7:30 a.m. – I clean up all the crumbs from muffin eating and get the 7-year old’s lunch ready for one of her last days at summer drama camp. Turkey sandwich, grapes and a bag of cheez its. I pack myself breakfast and head upstairs to get ready for work while my husband comes down to take over kid-duty.

7:55 a.m. – I say goodbye to everyone and walk to the train. It is so beautiful outside and I feel the cool air on my bare legs while I walk down East Upsal Street towards Germantown Avenue. Neighbors, stray cats and the smell of baked goods are all part of my walk to the station. Frosted Fox, an amazing bakery on the corner, bakes early and the intersection always smells like cake. I love the end of summer gardens full of barely hanging in their flowers and a few orange leaves on the ground.

Barely hanging in there flower at the end of Summer, East Upsal Street

8:15 a.m. – Upsal Station is packed like pre-covid times. The city workers are back in their offices and the train has gotten very busy. While I wait, I check the public garden plots at the station for fresh oregano to pick. There’s lots there but less than last year.

Morning view from the platform at Upsal Station, Chestnut Hill West Line

8:18 a.m. – The train comes right on time like most mornings. I put my headphones in, listen to the NPR morning news and drink my coffee. I love the train ride into center city. It gives me time to relax, get caffeinated and do the day’s NYT strands, wordle and connections.

The graffiti on the train ride is epic. Some have to have been there for 30 or 40 years. The ride is a roller coaster of community gardens, new developments, abandoned factories, car lots, schools, soccer fields, and finally, the zoo, the bridge over the Schuylkill and then 30th Street Station. No matter how many times I do this train ride, it always makes me appreciate living in this city. 

I love this whale

8:50 a.m. – I get off at Suburban and make my way to the office. Two things always strike me when I get to the station. The first is the bank of payphones that actually work. I see people making calls. The second is the newish mural painted on the west side of the station. It’s pretty and adds color to the drab beige/grey walls and floor.

Pay phones, Suburban Station, they work

Mural, Suburban Station, newish

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – work work work, meetings, typing, phone calls, more coffee, looking forward to lunchtime and going outside. The firm got pretzels for everyone today so that was a nice treat.  

10:00 a.m. – Friend texts asking to meet in Love Park for lunch. Yay!

1:00 p.m. – Finally, time for lunch! It is beautiful outside. I walk over to Love Park. The familiar “preacher” is out on the corner of 16th and Market shouting about fire and brimstone. The smell of cigarettes and halal cart fills the air. Love Park is alive with families and people having lunch with friends. Lots of tourists have their pics taken by the LOVE sign. A police officer is kicking a homeless man off of a chair. The water in the splash park feature is misting everyone and it feels so nice.

1:15 p.m. – I go to the “new” Trader Joes at 13th and Arch. It’s been there for a few years but I haven’t been yet. Overnight oats, carrots and (more) coffee for lunch. How are the T-Joes employees always so nice and happy?

1:30 p.m. – We find a shady bench and eat and chat. My friend is doing a “day in the life” in November so we talk strategy and take a few photos. We both have to get back to work so it’s a quick meetup.

Lunch on a bench on a beautiful day with a friend, Love Park

Tourists everywhere, Love Park

2:00 p.m. – The Dollar Tree in suburban station is the freaking best. They always put Halloween decorations out way to early. It’s on my way back to the office so I go down underground on the escalator on the west side of City Hall into the bowels of Market Street. Lots of clothing and beauty stores and a new Bao shop that I didn’t know was there. I get spiders and a hanging witch for the tree outside my house at the dollar store.

2:15 p.m. – Back to work.

4:40 – I’m finally done with work so I walk back to Suburban Station. I like to walk up and down the train platform all the way up and all the way back, listen to music and watch people get on their trains to go home. I’m feeling nostalgic so I listen to the first Le Tigre album. My train pulls up at 4:48 and I run into two friends from the neighborhood. We sit together and chat about kids and school starting on Monday.

Sitting with friends on the train, Chestnut Hill West

5:25 - My family picks me up from the station and im so relieved to see my kids and husband after a long day without them. My husband ordered pizzas (he's a hero) so we go to pick them up. 

5:45 – I’m finally home! I immediately change into comfy clothes and eat pizza. We talk about our days. The kids are tired but full of energy so we go out and work and play in the garden for an hour. The neighbor kid comes over while his mom cleans up their backyard which is right next to ours. The kids play in the mud kitchen while I prune my gigantic tomato plants and try to find ripe cucumbers for tomorrow's lunches. The mosquitos are bad so we head inside. 

Gigantic tomato plants (left) in my backyard, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia

Ripe cucumber for tomorrow’s lunches

6:50 - The kids take a bath together and I put the baby down while my daughter makes friendship bracelets in her room. Her and I go back downstairs and sit on the couch to hang. I love this time with her, at night, when the baby is asleep, and we are both exhausted but so happy to be with each other. She asks me about horror movie characters the older kids at camp talk about like chucky and pennywise. We laugh about how silly pretend monsters are and she asks me when she will be old enough to watch scary movies.   

7:30 - My husband comes home from the gym and tells us that our friend, who is in from New Orleans and is saying with us for the night, just flew in and is on his way.

My daughter and I go to the porch to wait for our house guest and I take out the trash while she swings in the hammock. It is still so beautiful outside. Cool but not cold. The street is busy with people walking their dogs. The stray cats are running around and we can smell the neighbor’s dinner cooking. We sit on the porch and play Ms. Mary Mack until our friend arrives.

8:30 – Hurray! Our friend is here. We go inside and hang for a bit and he tells us about New Orleans and his flight. My daughter and I go upstairs to bed and let my husband and friend have some time to catch up.

9:00 – She’s almost asleep in her room and I lay in bed to relax after taking a long shower. The baby is snoring and making cute noises in his sleep and he snuggles up to me when I lay down. 

9:30 – I hear a loud fire truck and ambulance outside. My daughter gets back up and asks what’s happening. We look out the window but I tell her to go back to bed.

9:45 - She's asleep and I look out the window again. The neighbor across the street is texting me. There are people outside crying. Our beloved neighbor had been sick for some time but had started getting better after finishing chemo. I have a sinking feeling and go to tell my husband about it.

I get ready for bed and look outside every once in a while, to see what's going on but the large Linden Tree outside my house is blocking the view. 

The cicadas are loud and the crickets are chirping and a bug is making a weird clicking sound.

I can't sleep.

11:30 – I go to the window again to see two black mini vans from a funeral home outside. They wheel her body out in a bag on a gurney and load her into one of the vans. I always wondered how that worked when you die at home. My other neighbor is just getting home when she sees them taking the body out and yells “Is that Darlene!?” The pain in her voice breaks me.

I cry and finally go to sleep.

Ms. Darlene and my daughter, December 2021