Taking a Writing Break

After staying up until 2:00 am working on my submission to the Washington SCBWI retreat and conference in April, I am taking a writing break today during my son's time at the Play Boutique, his daycare, playschool, nursery-type of place. It's a very special place that takes drop-in toddlers three times a week and provides not only a play area but also art, music, and most important of all-- snack.

Little Scribe loves it. He attends on Tuesdays from 9-12:45pm, Wednesdays from 9-11am, and Fridays from 9-11am. My favorite part of the Play Boutique happens once a week on Friday night from 5:30pm-8:30pm. It's called "Happy Hour" and it's a drop-off playtime so parents can go out to dinner, see a movie, and just basically be "adults" again. I don't know what I would do without it.

I use these hours as my writing time, and since the Play Boutique is fifteen minutes away from my house, I write nearby at either Peets Coffee or Chuck's Coffee and Cookies (not a good thing to write where fresh, homemade cookies are being baked, though. I almost never leave without one for each member of my family, but at least Chuck's has free internet.) This personal time is precious to me, and I almost never waste it on errands, which usually leads to dragging Little Scribe to the grocery store, dry cleaners, or the dreaded Target. I despise running errands with him. It never fails that the trip ends up with some kind of breakdown, no matter how many snacks, toys, or how much sleep he's gotten.

What I really need is what Michael Keaton had in the movie, "Multiplicity," a "Mama Scribe #2" who would do all of my errands for me while I write. With my luck, though, the clone would be like #4 in the movie and never get anything done. (If you've seen the movie, you'll know what I mean.) Actually, I think in real life, now that I've become a mother, my brain is more like #4 than I want to admit!

And now, it's time to go eat a dolphin... I mean, pet a dolphin. (Another annoying movie reference, I know)