Monday, February 17, 2014

Yer Crampin’ My Style, Kid

I can’t help but feel a little jipped this morning. It’s a Monday. And I’d usually have plenty of time to sit down and blog and work on my current manuscript on a day like today.

But I can kiss that ‘me’ time goodbye because my little angels are on another two-week vacation thanks to France’s six-weeks-on, two-weeks-off school schedule.

I said 'au revoir' to my peaceful morning the moment I awoke to blood-curdling screams because ‘Lucy’s bugging me!’ – this was the only real explanation I was given.

My middle child, Julie, then came in and informed me the baby had peed through her diaper and her crib was wet. Great. With eyes still closed, I grabbed a diaper and new onesie and pj’s and headed into their room. After stripping the baby down and changing her diaper and onesie, I realized everything was perfectly dry and I just changed her clothes for no goddam reason. Thank you, Julie.

I grabbed a much-needed cup of coffee and sat down to relax when Lucy, my six-year-old, came bounding up to me, hands, mouth and pants covered in white-out (which I told her about 2.5 seconds ago not to play with, all while needlessly changing the baby’s clothes).

“I don’t know what happened!”

Yes.

Her words.

She was really upset. So, naturally, I took a picture with my phone before rubbing her down with olive oil to help remove the white out. I finally sat back down to my (now cold) cup of coffee, looked out the window only to realize my oldest daughter, Lily, left her brand new coat outside in the back yard yesterday. And it had rained. Son of a…!

Out I went, bare foot, with barely a half cup of coffee in my system, to recuperate her soaking mess of a jacket and hang it up to dry, thinking there must be military camps out there with less physically and mentally stressful wake-up calls. And maybe I’ll go there. In any case, this is starting out to be another lovely, long vacation.

What irks me most isn’t even all the calamities that can happen within the first 15 minutes of any given morning. It’s that my writing was actually going really well pre-vacation. I’m nearing the 15k mark and becoming more and more addicted to the story and characters. So taking time out at this crucial point is hard.

But, hey. Guess this is one of those times where I have to remind myself ‘they’re only kids once!’ so best to try and enjoy our time together while I can:)


What’s been keeping you from your writing lately?

13 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's what you had kids for, right?
Maybe there's a military camp you can send them to?
Keep working on the story in your mind if you can't get to it on paper.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Ah, the joys of motherhood!

Connie Keller said...

I feel bad, but you had me smiling as I pictured the non-wet baby, the white out, and the muddy, brand new jacket and remembering when my kids were little. I'm sorry you're having such a rotten morning, but thanks so much for the smile--I really needed it.

Old Kitty said...

Awwwwww!!! They all sound so utterly adorable! LOL!! Have a great Monday! Take care
x

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Nothing. Nothing's been keeping me from writing, including work. We have had NINE snow days so far. This is the final day in a 5-day weekend (Two snow days, Sat/Sun, President's Day) and they are predicting another snow storm tonight. I might be off again tomorrow.

This has been great for writing. But it means I'll be going to school until July 4! I am actually missing my classroom, believe it or not! And my girls (16 and 13) are bored to tears.

Paul Anthony Shortt said...

Right now the biggest thing is going through the fist couple of months of having a new baby.

Add that to being the dad of now 3 babies, with a wife who needs crutches to get around the house, and you can probably imagine I'm left pretty wrecked by the time I do get to sit down and write. :-)

D.G. Hudson said...

A lovely day in the neighborhood?

Yes they do grow up, after they become irritating teens and test their parents mettle. These are the fun years, but they are full to the brim. I couldn't read books when kids were little, too many interruptions, so I read mags. Be persistent, this too will pass. . .

Elizabeth Seckman said...

I feel like mine have had six weeks off. Thank you snow!

Cynthia said...

Hello, I'm a new follower. I have young children, so I know how that can be. I would say that the responsibilities of parenthood can slow the writing down, but at the same time, offer me a priceless experience that I wouldn't trade for anything else. =)

mshatch said...

Oh boy, I don't envy you. Three kids is way too many for me! I don't know how my parents ever stayed sane with seven!!!

A Literary Anthology said...

Stay in that writer's world groove!

I daydream about my story, characters and locations to help a little. Sometimes, as you know, it's nice to have some time away from the story just to think - that's when I 'see' details to add and things I really didn't need to include.

Whatever works for you.

Natalie Aguirre said...

The white out story made me laugh. I have plenty of distractions-a full time job, family, a daughter who swims, an online class for a job search this year, and my blog. Maybe that's why I'm not writing much these days.

Unknown said...

I'm a photographer but what usually keeps my from my work is my adorable kids. They are so much fun and when they are around, I just get so distracted.

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