Now that it's here, it sort of just feels like any other day.

I guess that's fitting.

From my nook by the window, I give the coffee shop a scan since my attention's been buried in the book I'm reading. Or, was reading... I finished it, Stephen King's On Writing. I enjoyed it differently than I expected to.

My wooden chair gives a couple of light screeches while I scoot myself back so I can stretch my legs. I'm feeling particularly stiff today; which makes sense because we had soccer playoffs last night. We, uh... didn't do that good. But I'm just glad I got to play after missing a chunk of our season with a sprained ankle.

The two older guys sitting behind me come in here a lot. The bald one talks really loud and the other fella with the glasses always seems to be hacking something up. There are some familiar faces in here today, too. I guess I've spent a fair bit of time in this place throughout the last year... sipping my coffee, reading, writing in my notebook, tinkering on my laptop. I wonder what comes to mind when they see me? "Look, it's that guy who___."

Who what?

Sits there with his headphones on?

Observing people? And he really thinks they don't notice, huh?

With a blink, I look around and smile. Just another day in the life—MAP Year or not. Then I lean forward and set my left palm on the edge of the table. Pushing my way up to a standing position, I realize I've probably just grunted like a dad getting out of a recliner. Oh, well. C'est la vie. Reaching first for my book, then my notebook, and finally my laptop, I pack my bag and say a mental goodbye to my unofficial MAP Year work station. One of them, anyway.

When the door closes behind me and the sun hits my face, it dawns on me that I'll probably be back tomorrow, anyway.

***

As an aside, this 365 days of writing and publishing has been a really wild ride. I know I shared some thoughts on the project earlier this week, and a blurb about what's next in the latest Monthly Dispatch, but it turns out that I really like the "me" who writes every day.

So, with that in mind, I'll be back tomorrow.

Because, for now at least, I’m going to continue writing my Kickturn column.

See you then?

---

Our Daily MAP Year Prompt
365/365

Thank you for joining me on this adventure. What a remarkable journey it's been!

Cheers to all that's ahead.

onward. 

For more on this daily column, read the backstory here. And if you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along.