First Day of School!

This morning I waved good bye to two happy children heading off to school with their daddy. Windows down, music blasting and smiles glowing. I promptly went back inside, poured another quart of coffee and dug out a pile of dusty manuscripts.

Ok. I'm exaggerating. Titus and Annie Book 2 is not dusty. Just a lot of cat hair from serving as a bed for my snitty kitty Vi since the middle of July. However, my coffee mug does indeed hold a quart.

My kids are great and I can work in their chaos. They indulge their mommy, waiting for me to jot down an idea before reading that second book at bed time and they make great first readers. Their energy is great for researching and creating but not finishing.

Titus and Annie Book 2 is at the finishing point. The first 5 chapters are groomed and solid. The last chapter is written. It's even funny. The middle 6 chapters are blocked, storyboarded, researched and conflict mapped. Time to write and time to finish this puppy.

Finishing a project takes total submersion and focus. Once the text flows from start to finish I have to climb out and refocus on pacing and then some good old line by line editing to put the fun back in the language. That's not happening with my squirrel children around.

This is why I have been been counting down to the first day of school for the past 8,375 minutes. Do I sound like some ogre mom who can't stand time alone with her kids? Perhaps. But this monster mama is ready to chain herself to a desk chair and get back to work.

I will miss summer. Honest. Last night we drank a toast (with Sonic Cream slushes) to the end of summer and the start of school. It is nice to follow a different family rhythm.

I will miss being woken up at 5:30 am to hear Colin's latest story idea, dozing off and waking up again at 7:30 to catch the middle of the epic. I will miss Kate bursting into the study with the pages of her latest graphic novel.

Summer is over. No more herds of children charging around the backyard on a weekday wielding wooden swords. Epic block towers and fleets of pirate ships will have to wait until the weekend. We will all be expected to put on pants before Ed leaves for work. No more going to bed smelling like chlorine and sun screen.

Time to make some more coffee.