A house bought with every corner imagined months before it was real, and a habit tracker that stalled halfway through its own grid. Between those two sides, a look at what it actually takes to carry a goal all the way through.

For years I had a little figurine facing the wrong way, without realizing what that meant. Here's what I understood the day I turned him a hundred and eighty degrees while waiting for my mate water.

The plane hit the ground hard, a thread of sunlight came through when they opened the door, and it felt like touching down, crossing myself, and running straight onto the field. Someone truly local, no rush, just watching the street. Landing in a country I'd never set foot in, where I couldn't understand a word of the language, had me a notch more on edge than usual. You're probably thinking "what a ridiculous thing to say," but new things tense me up a little at first. Then I relax. And I...