Katherine Nicolai

Put down whatever you've been looking at and switch off the light. Slide down deep into your sheets. And make your body as comfortable as it can be. There's nothing you need to stay on top of. No one is waiting. And you have done enough for today. You're safe. Take a slow breath in through your nose. And let it out with a sigh. Nice. Do one more. In and out.

Put down whatever you've been looking at and switch off the light. Slide down deep into your sheets. And make your body as comfortable as it can be. There's nothing you need to stay on top of. No one is waiting. And you have done enough for today. You're safe. Take a slow breath in through your nose. And let it out with a sigh. Nice. Do one more. In and out.

Put down whatever you've been looking at and switch off the light. Slide down deep into your sheets. And make your body as comfortable as it can be. There's nothing you need to stay on top of. No one is waiting. And you have done enough for today. You're safe. Take a slow breath in through your nose. And let it out with a sigh. Nice. Do one more. In and out.

When I was a kid, playing with my friends, it seemed like our constant ambition to build a fort, to make a clubhouse, somehow to construct a space for ourselves that could only be permeated by grownups when snacks were handed through a flap in the blankets. The best version of this dream we could imagine was a treehouse.

When I was a kid, playing with my friends, it seemed like our constant ambition to build a fort, to make a clubhouse, somehow to construct a space for ourselves that could only be permeated by grownups when snacks were handed through a flap in the blankets. The best version of this dream we could imagine was a treehouse.

When I was a kid, playing with my friends, it seemed like our constant ambition to build a fort, to make a clubhouse, somehow to construct a space for ourselves that could only be permeated by grownups when snacks were handed through a flap in the blankets. The best version of this dream we could imagine was a treehouse.

And I remember sketching out plans with the stub of a pencil in a spiral-bound notebook with most of the pages ripped out. As long as you're dreaming, you may as well dream big. So our treehouse would have retractable stairs to keep out siblings who might try to take over the place, as well as, um, maybe bears? We were kids. It made sense at the time.

And I remember sketching out plans with the stub of a pencil in a spiral-bound notebook with most of the pages ripped out. As long as you're dreaming, you may as well dream big. So our treehouse would have retractable stairs to keep out siblings who might try to take over the place, as well as, um, maybe bears? We were kids. It made sense at the time.

And I remember sketching out plans with the stub of a pencil in a spiral-bound notebook with most of the pages ripped out. As long as you're dreaming, you may as well dream big. So our treehouse would have retractable stairs to keep out siblings who might try to take over the place, as well as, um, maybe bears? We were kids. It made sense at the time.

We'd have a fridge stocked with drinks and snacks. Where would we plug it in? Maybe a knot in the tree? Maybe we could figure out how to turn sap into electricity? Yeah, I'd make a note to invent that later. We'd have binoculars for spotting friends in their trees a few yards away. a slide or, better yet, a zip line to carry us back down. And we'd hold our meetings up there. About what?

We'd have a fridge stocked with drinks and snacks. Where would we plug it in? Maybe a knot in the tree? Maybe we could figure out how to turn sap into electricity? Yeah, I'd make a note to invent that later. We'd have binoculars for spotting friends in their trees a few yards away. a slide or, better yet, a zip line to carry us back down. And we'd hold our meetings up there. About what?

We'd have a fridge stocked with drinks and snacks. Where would we plug it in? Maybe a knot in the tree? Maybe we could figure out how to turn sap into electricity? Yeah, I'd make a note to invent that later. We'd have binoculars for spotting friends in their trees a few yards away. a slide or, better yet, a zip line to carry us back down. And we'd hold our meetings up there. About what?

You know, nine-year-old stuff. Very important. You wouldn't understand. We never achieved our ambition of a treehouse. the logistics quickly overwhelmed us, and when our friends, who claimed to have a cousin in the country who had one, we looked at them with a good deal of skepticism. Maybe treehouses were only in movies or adventure stories. Still,

You know, nine-year-old stuff. Very important. You wouldn't understand. We never achieved our ambition of a treehouse. the logistics quickly overwhelmed us, and when our friends, who claimed to have a cousin in the country who had one, we looked at them with a good deal of skepticism. Maybe treehouses were only in movies or adventure stories. Still,

You know, nine-year-old stuff. Very important. You wouldn't understand. We never achieved our ambition of a treehouse. the logistics quickly overwhelmed us, and when our friends, who claimed to have a cousin in the country who had one, we looked at them with a good deal of skepticism. Maybe treehouses were only in movies or adventure stories. Still,

We kept attempting to make forts wherever we could. With school canceled on one sunny snow day, we met up at the end of the block where there was an empty lot full of knee-high snow. It was late winter. and the deep chill was giving over to slightly less frigid temps.

We kept attempting to make forts wherever we could. With school canceled on one sunny snow day, we met up at the end of the block where there was an empty lot full of knee-high snow. It was late winter. and the deep chill was giving over to slightly less frigid temps.

We kept attempting to make forts wherever we could. With school canceled on one sunny snow day, we met up at the end of the block where there was an empty lot full of knee-high snow. It was late winter. and the deep chill was giving over to slightly less frigid temps.

So the snow packed together nicely, and we had a genius idea to shovel it into milk crates, the plastic kind with faded writing on the sides. All garages have them, though they aren't acquired in any way that I know. They just appear in a corner or on a shelf and get filled with battered softballs or swim goggles.

So the snow packed together nicely, and we had a genius idea to shovel it into milk crates, the plastic kind with faded writing on the sides. All garages have them, though they aren't acquired in any way that I know. They just appear in a corner or on a shelf and get filled with battered softballs or swim goggles.