Hey! Let’s go play hide-and-seek with my attention span! Ever wonder what someone’s mind looks like when they’re trying to write? Let’s see if I can paint a picture that shows you what MINE looks like.
Okay, picture this: my tidy patio where I always hope I’ll be inspired by something – ANYTHING. I sit down at the table with a steaming cup of coffee and sparkly little thoughts darting through my mind. Before I can even open up the laptop the dance begins for real. A phone alarm goes off reminding me to cancel my subscription to Medium, so I log in and see 3-4 articles that interest me … maybe I WON’T cancel. My husband goes strolling by with the little dog and mentions how beautiful the hostas are, leading to a five minute conversation about which are the prettiest hostas of the half a dozen kinds we have. Morning sunlight trickles through the cedar trees and hops across the table. Suddenly, my fingers itch for my camera. Speaking of my camera – my trusty sidekick for capturing the beauty of dozens of women over the years – while I’m trying to write, I’m seeing so many things I could be taking photos of. My camera calls to me from the dining room table to capture the cascade of impatiens, a mourning dove on the back of the glider or the gentle sway of a rusted wind chime. Who can resist such temptations?
And then, inevitably, I have to use the bathroom and I’m distracted by the dust on the living room shelves, the pile of yesterday’s dishes that seem to whisper at me, their voices accusatory and BigD’s side eye as I go back outside where a single white butterfly flits by. Can I be blamed for pausing writing to take care of the more important things in my life?
Now let’s add my increasingly worsening memory skills. I sometimes sit for an entire minute trying to think of a word THEN sit and wonder if the lapses are a normal because I’m getting older or if they’re a side effect of the stroke.
Ths dance of distractions is both captivating and frustrating. It’s a ballet of beauty, a symphony of sounds, and a gallery of wonders all vying for my focus. But I have to think, amidst this amusing chaos, there’s hope. The same distractions that lead me away from the laptop are the very things I get my inspiration from. Not really distractions, but additional notes in my life’s daily performance.
So, I embrace this whimsical journey, where words and focus twirl in an intricate dance. I’ll keep chasing butterflies, seizing moments, and gazing at the little events that happen in my yard every day. Because these distractions are the threads that will make up my stories.
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