Writing
Yup, almost a full week since I posted. And, looking back, almost four weeks since I wrote anything major (that is, more than 100 words a day). According to my calculations, I now need about 4000 words a day to finish the first draft on my self-imposed deadline. Ugh. If I start now, I still think I can finish my draft “0” by the deadline, but not the first draft. Draft “0” is the really rough first piece of sh*t that my brain spits out. It’ll be about 1/2 the word count that I am aiming for, and contains POV changes, tense changes, point form scenes, etc.
So, that’s my new goal. Draft “0” by the end of the month, and First Draft sometime in the new year. I won’t put a date on the first draft yet, I’ll wait and see how crappy Draft “0” is first.
Good Morning
Ryan woke up this morning, with his usual muffled “I’m awake!” coming from his bedroom. This time, it was followed by “Dad”. Most of the time he wants Mom to get him out of bed, but this morning it was me. It’s a job I really enjoy, and today was no exception.
I walked into his room, the light from the open door showing a bundle of blankets in the middle of the bed. I could just barely make out the tousle of hair sticking out. I still wasn’t sure it was Dad that he wanted, so before I stepped too far into the room, I made sure I let him know it was me. There was no answer, but there wasn’t a sudden pulling of the blanket over the head scene either. So far so good.
I sat on the edge of the bed, there was just enough space for me, and looked down at him. He had pulled the blankets off his head and squinted up at me smiling.
“Dad,” he said, “did you put up the Christmas Tree last night?”
“No Ry, we’ll put it up in a week or so.”
“Good.” He smiled and rubbed his eyes. “I want to help decorate it.”
I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Don’t worry, we won’t put it up without you there to help.”
He gave me the squint and smile again, and wriggled his arms out from under the covers. They reached up and grabbed around my neck, pulling me into a hug.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too Ry.”
“Can I have Dino Eggs for breakfast.”
“Absolutely.”
The kids help with the tree every year, and there’s no way Marnie will have it any other way. They have so much fun doing it, it’s a blast. Traditionally in my family, the tree was set up overnight, and when we woke up in the morning the thrill of seeing the tree was enormous. We loved the surprise. My kids will never have that, but I think them helping is a much greater joy for all of us.