WINDOWS TO WRITE

On the way home from my son’s violin lesson each week, I have to make a left turn onto a road busy with evening rush hour traffic.

My son and I talk as I look for a safe opportunity to pull out. Sometimes I get distracted by our conversation, and I wait for a slow poke car when I could have gone easily on my way.

 “I missed my widow,” I’ll say disappointed. And we wait some more.

Yesterday, as I began to think about my New Year’s resolution in terms of writing goals, I realized my whole day is one big jumble of traffic.

My two main rush hours are in the morning, getting the kids off to school, and in the afternoon when they return. The rest of the day is unpredictable.

My usual route includes housework, errands, paperwork, cooking and laundry.

What if in the New Year I resolve to take a detour and occasionally meander down the writing path?

Obstacles exist. I can’t write when my sons practice their trumpets or need help with their homework. The dishes have to be washed, and dinner has to be made. I have to balance my checkbook and brush my teeth.

But within my daily routine, small windows occur in traffic when I can safely pull out and sit down to write.

I’ve made good use of some of these unobvious opportunities. I’ve written Haiku during my son’s music lessons or sitting in waiting rooms to see a doctor. I’ve pecked out blog pieces on my laptop while the clothes washer finishes its final cycle. I’ve written notes on napkins and menus after ordering meals or take-out in restaurants.

If I can map out plans to go to breakfast with my friends, play a game of tennis, attend a writer’s group meeting or finish a book I’m reading, why can’t I also make time to write between my rush hours a part of my itinerary?

Bumps in the road will occur if someone gets sick, I run out of milk, a library book gets lost or a tire goes flat.

But for 2013, I plan to carry a pen and notebook with me at all times, even in the house. Who knows what I characters I can create while waiting for my spaghetti to boil?

--cawk