Wash Day

I had such lofty plans. I had an idea for what I wanted to write today, an idea that began brewing yesterday afternoon. I even made a couple of notes so I wouldn't lose some of my more brilliant thoughts. Then I woke up this morning and... poof! All that's left is smoke and mirrors.

I've been sitting here staring at my notes, at the blank page, and it just won't come. I type. I delete. I type again, delete some more. Stare. Surf websites and facebook. Type, delete, get bean, look out the window, type, delete. The topic that wove its way into my dreams just will not do my bidding. Maybe later.

I'm telling you this to make you understand that intelligence and talent are wonderful things, but if you don't have a good launching point (aka inspiration), they are pretty much as helpful as a heat lamp in the desert.

Granted, most of the time stuff is just there, just waiting for me to give it an avenue to wander down, and it's more of a matter of filtering out what not to use. Sometimes, like today, the stuff is in utter chaos and disarray. It's just so much clamoring noise without a single true voice.

Does that mean you walk away from the whole gig and give up? Nope. Never. Dealing with stubborn creativity is just like dealing with a recalcitrant toddler. The toddler is not always going to do what you ask of him, much less what you expect of him. Some days the toddler can be cajoled and coaxed into something like obedience. Other days, you just have to give up any plans for predicable behavior and let the kid do what he is gonna do. When I was a nanny I called those wash days - not because I spent the day doing laundry, but because the day was a wash. You can only struggle with an obstreperous child for so long before one of two things happens. You either get frustrated and aggressive and everyone ends up being unhappy, or you lean back, watch the kid and his antics, and find amusement. Amusement is better.

Amusement and a nap.

If the kid will let you.