accomplishedHaving written only approximately 50 words, I was beginning to get a frustration headache. I told my son we were going out for a walk, and I packed up my laptop and bundled him into his stroller. My plan: walk until he fell asleep (since it was about naptime) and then head for the coffeeshop to get a little writing done while he napped.
Naturally, he foiled my plans: playing actively with his little plastic "spaceship" that he created by sticking together two dome-shaped pieces from a baby block set. The ship went "shhhooom, shoooom!" When the ship wasn't "shooooming," he was loudly exclaiming about how the stroller wheels were going "round and round," and counting the cars we passed (he can now count up to 14, after which he starts over).
We reached the little park where I often used to take him over the summer. Often, I would sit on a bench and check e-mail from my phone while he snoozed. We parked the stroller and took a little stroll through the leaves. Yes, I was trying to tire him out.
Turns out it worked: as we stopped in a nearby grocery store to pick up a couple things, he slumped over, fast asleep. I was only a few blocks from the coffee shop, so I doubled back and followed through with my original plans.
Despite the fact that he woke up while I was halfway through my salad and my coffee, he was surprisingly cooperative. I had wisely chosen a seat next to the window, so he sat on my lap, watching cars and playing with his "rocket ship" while I wrote a little more.
By the time he told me, on the way to the bathroom for a diaper change, that he wanted to go home, I had written nearly 1,000 words. Not too bad, when you consider what it took to get there!
Don't know how well I'll do tomorrow: I've got an assignment due for Yahoo!, and my out-of-town friend should be here. But at least I should be able to get some thinking and plotting done, while driving to meet her.
