Cyclone and Scooter are back! And, Sandi finds that sometimes, Reality bites.

We Left Our Heroine…

Greetings and welcome back to the briefly interrupted saga of my kids and my keyboard.  Thanks for letting me wax pragmatic for a month on the How-To series…I needed that.

But now, I am rejuvenated, refreshed, and happily wreaking havoc in Norway in the year AD 823.  Feel sorry for my cast ofcharacters.  They’re all adjusting to new relationships and two thirds of the protagonists are strangers in a strange land.

Back in my Real Life

When I write, I am not always, shall we say, the most polite of people.  This irritation usually manifests itself when I am trying desperately to close off a chapter in the most compelling way.  Do I interrupt my heroine and hero in the middle of a fight?  Do I wait until the coup de grace has been issued?  Do I stop the scene before, during, or after a battle?  Decisions, decisions!

But before the endings, I try to write equitably, understanding that Reality Rules. 

Lately, Reality has been holding sway in my kitchen.

TupperMania

Scooter has discovered that the lower cupboards of the kitchen are his domains.  And really, they kind of are.  Many parents put those child safety locks on all cabinet doors. I chose to get rid of any harmful objects from the lower cabinets instead.  Then, when Scooter goes investigating, I am sure that there is nothing within reach that will hurt him.

One of these open, safe cupboards houses the ubiquitous Tupperware.

Scooter adores Tupperware in all its forms.  He enjoys stacking stackables, putting the big bowls into their geocentric orbits, one within another.  He gets a huge thrill out of banging two pieces together for the sound.  And of course, his favorite occupation is pushing them around the floor.  With a broom. 

Phoenix Coyotes, watch out!

I like Scooter’s obsession, except that it is extremely difficult to clean up after it.  No sooner is all the T-ware put away, than he gets it right back out again.

A Cyclone lives in Phoenix…

My big boy is not to be outdone.  With the end of third grade looming nearer all the time, he is busily…. drum roll, please...reading comic books!

Yes, he’s studying spelling, shoving math facts into his brain, and writing a research paper about Texas (hear that, R’nay?).  Actually, he completed the final draft of this last only recently.  It was a great piece of work for a nine-year-old. 

Okay, I’m biased. Oops?

His energy level has been extremely high lately, and he’s reading and asking me to explain Archie comic books, discuss the upcoming movies he really wants to see, and in general, he wants me to hear every story that’s running through his head, every minute of his life.

I am thrilled to death that he’s got a multitude of stories.  But.  I really want to finish this chapter!

Go Away!

I have to confess it.  I have said this even to my wonderful Spousal Unit. 

See, when I’m in that End of Chapter Zone, I am not polite, as I’ve indicated above.  I get frustrated with the Tupperware.  I can’t cope with another version of Jughead eating lunch.  I do not want to hear about the NBA playoffs. I don’t even want to hear about the Diamondbacks, my favorite pro sports team!

I tell them all, aged 36 to 17 months, to just Go Away. 

It’s great not to be surrounded by The Dreaded Block (see my blog dated 5/13 at the WTI web log), but I confess to being less than wonderful to live with when my writing is rushing ahead at full power.

Back in the  Saddle

So to all of you who have told me that you’ve missed Cyclone and Scooter, I thank you.  I haven’t missed them in the same way, of course, but I know what you mean.  Scooter has, today, been the image of Saran Wrap ® personified.  He’s napping now, which means I can write…

Ooooh, my keyboard without my kids. What a rarity.

I’m heading back to Norway now. See you next week!

Copyright 2003 Sandi Layne