New York City, September 21, 2015

★★★ The morning was chilly enough to give the four-year-old, pried away from his newly filled balloon and hurried out the door without a jacket: another grievance for the litany. The breeze stayed cool after midday; out in the warmth of the sun on Broadway, the gusts were stronger, and soon high clouds helped thin the light. The wind on the avenue was not too much for the balloon on the walk to and from the pre-K pickup. The four-year-old declined to wear the jacket he’d been brought. The sky went over to pale gray, with darker gray fish scales below. In the night, out the open window, people were talking on a balcony quite nearby but unseeable. Up by the ceiling a mosquito perched on the bottom of another balloon, as if the rubber were skin.