Chop, Chop

The air was leaking out from my writing.  There must have been a tiny puncture somewhere in my tube.  Words were trickling forth, streaming into the air and my mind was falling flat. 
 
I must admit, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.  School was out for the summer and my sixteen year old was underfoot.  The boy was no trouble really, but I needed an adjustment period.  For one thing, the kid could eat like there was no tomorrow.  When he had exhausted all of his resources, he'd find himself at my door and then I'd hear his familiar want, "mom, I'm hungry can you help me find something good?"
 
In the story...I was penning... and without further reflection he lifted the knife, closed his eyes and... "mom, I'm hungry can you help me find something good?"
 
That was exactly how it happened, honest.  So, I plodded up the stairs, down the hallway and to the kitchen.  I pulled this and grabbed that closing the refrigerator in my wake.  The frying pan sizzled and after two shakes of spice with a topping of cheese, wal-la! 
 
"Here you go!  Find something to drink for yourself and please load everything into the dishwasher."
 
As I headed down the hallway, our cats, trouble one and trouble two arrived at my feet.  "Meow, Meow...meow (a bit softer) me-ow."  I clicked on the light in the room where they stay,  I poured some food and refilled their water.  Happy cats.
 
I headed down the stairs, to my office and closed the door.  Finally, I'm back...now where was I?
 
I started at the beginning to read what I had in the chapter so far.  (I generally aim for one chapter per day.)  Oh yeah...not bad. 
 
....and without further reflection he lifted the knife, closed his eyes and...  Scratch, scratch...woof, woof...followed by a shrill squeal.  My dog Monkeyshine, she was at the window beckoning.  "Really?  You couldn't ask to come in before I sat down to write again?  Okay, okay, one minute pooch.  I'll let you in...what the squirrels went home for lunch and you have no one to play with?"
 
I plodded through the house and stopped at the door to let the wild thing inside.  Dog tore in and through as if someone had fueled her jets with nitro.  Her tail whipped, it didn't wag, it whipped, appearing as if she might take flight. 
 
"Here comes the dog!"  I warned my son.  "Mom, before you go back to writing, I'm still hungry...do you have any ideas?"
 
The shingles from our gingerbread house.  The doughnut tires on our bakery car.  How about gnawing on a few greenbacks from my wallet because that's where most of the cash we have is going anyway.  Let's cut out the middleman or rather the grocery store, shall we?    They say a person needs to have more green in their diet anyway, well that works for me.    
 
"Let's get creative here..."  "How about cheese popcorn?  I'll get the pan, you find what cheese to melt from the fridge..."
 
Finally I arrived back in my office.  I closed the door, turned off my cell phone, unplugged the home phone...  The dog was upstairs with my son, the cats were fine, son was fed (for now), my windows were open and all that I could hear were the birds chirping in the trees above. I needed to get serious.  I began to read the current chapter from the beginning and then "it" happened.  The next door neighbor fired up his lawn mower.  The thing backfired twice before an annoying engine grind echoed throughout the land.  The smell of freshly cut grass began to fragrance the air.
 
The neighbor's yard was rather large and why he needed begin outside my window was beyond me. 
 
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and shook my head as I stood from my desk.   I give up.
 
There was a direct line from my office to the family room sofa.  I took a flying leap and fell into the pillows.   A nap was the only solution.
 
With my eyes closed I imagined the chapter before me.  I was no longer confined to words on a page for it evolved into a movie with subtitles playing out in my mind's eye.  The characters were real to me, the costumes, the setting, the lighting, I could hear their voices...rich and deep, there were feelings mixing in all around them.  Yes, this was exactly what I needed to do...to step back a moment, to rest, to gain a fresh perspective.
 
My eyes felt gritty for I had been up since three in the morning.  I surrendered, I surrendered my life and dove head-first into the story.  When I finally woke up, I was on the other side.  It was dinner time and my son was calling from the door wanting to know what was on the menu.
 
I had no plan, I didn't even have a completed chapter...what I did have though was a finished musing for the story I was writing.  ...without further reflection he lifted the knife, closed his eyes and began to chop fresh parsley for the stew.  Chef was cooking by candlelight and by instinct.   No one dared ask how it was he became a master in the kitchen for necessity is often the mother of invention. 
 
"So JD, what will you be making us for dinner tonight?"
 
My son peered at me, grinned, then replied in quick, "funny you should ask."
 
Forty minutes later, the stew was ready and we've been eating well ever since.