May 7, 2026

Good morning!

It’s Thursday, and it’s time for us to close our bags, roll them into the hallway, do one last check, set the keys on the kitchen counter, and then slowly pull the door closed until we hear the lock click—at which point there’s no going back, only forwards.

After two, possibly three trips in the world’s tiniest elevator with our suitcases, we’ll watch Paris slip away through the windows of a cab. Then comes the airport, which introduces a whole new series of steps, followed by a plane, more steps, another plane, and on it goes.

It can seem daunting, especially in the early morning. So we’ll take it pixel by pixel and trust that the picture will complete itself.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Onwards,

Clara