So I learned the hard way when writing for the Corning Leader that if you didn't write down a great idea when you thought of it, you'd lose it. We lived in this small little village in New York called Bath. Bath is a GREAT place to live, if you can handle the winters. There's only about 5,000 people in the village, the average age of the population is 65, there is only one primary school, one elementary, one middle school, and one high school and they are all on the same campus. The whole town roots for the same football team, and everyone pitches in to help out no matter the cause because they're all neighbors. Dave and I are moving back there next summer to raise our kids. There are four funeral homes in Bath -- same number of stoplights and fast food restaurants (Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Burger King and Arbys).
The next closest village is Painted Post and the nearest town is Corning. Corning is about 17 miles away and I spent a lot of time driving back and forth between Corning and Bath, for groceries or shopping or whatever. The mall was 45 miles away, so occasionally I would make that drive. It was in the car -- in my head -- that I would write my best stuff. At first I was always aggravated because by the time I got home with two cranky kids in tow, I would have entirely forgotten my masterpiece.
I don't drive much anymore...I venture from my house to take my son to school up the road, to stop at the grocery store, to occasionally pick up my daughter from pre-school, and to come to class twice a week ... but living back in Boise, I try to avoid driving. Boise's roads are still a bit of a deathtrap -- not much better than when I was going to high school here and people wanted to change our license plates from "famous potatoes" to "famous potholes."
Anyway, since I don't drive much and I'm at my computer, I have easy access to record my thoughts and ideas that pop into my head. So of course, I don't have that many.
But yesterday morning, in a hazy codeine hangover (I have bronchitis and have been living on cough syrup with codeine and NO cigarettes for a whole WEEK) I was taking a shower and composed an entire brilliant poem in my head. It was awesome. It was an ode to LeBron James, NBA basketball star of the Cavaliers. I don't follow NBA basketball, but I am LeBron's MSN website editor, so LeBron is always in my head because of my job, and I know way more about the NBA and basketball in general than I ever thought I would...but I was in the shower. Of course, by the time I got out, I could only just remember the gist, and by the time I'd dried off and wanted to jot it down, it was gone. Completely gone.
Dammit.
Tonight, I am going to try to recreate the codeine-induced hangover that inspired my creativity. Only this time, when I get in the shower, I'm going to have a pad of paper and pen nearby...
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My youngest child turned 5 last Tuesday. It is a milestone for any mother to have their youngest child officially leave toddler-hood. It's a bittersweet kind of thing, too. On one hand, my kids are now independent enough to fulfill a lot of their own needs. They are all capable of thinking for themselves and having opinions. They are learning exponentially. I have more time to focus on my own needs. At the same time, for the last 8 years, my main focus has been that of M-O-M. As my kids get older and establish their individuality and independence, I'll be forced to redefine myself - AGAIN. That's a difficult process, but I suppose it will be an interesting one as well.
