I did it! This morning, I finished writing Birthday Ranch! Of course, I still need to do endless revisions, make sure the plot points are on pace, spellcheck... Tomorrow I have three appointments to pitch agents, so I really should put in the work. But guess what I did instead? I took my little boy and my dog on a picnic. And I don’t regret it.
This week, my son has been on Spring Break from Caronavirus-induced homeschool and I’ve spent most of this potential quality time writing by myself in sweatpants. Because nothing gets a Master Procrastinator to work like an imminent deadline.
When I told him I finished writing my book, I looked at his sweet little face and imagined him a surly teenager who doesn’t want cuddles, or a grown man about to get married, and knew that I needed to be in this moment.
“We’re going on a picnic!” I said.
We‘re not supposed to go to the park during social distancing, but we’re fortunate to live two blocks from a lovely greenway. Today was a gorgeous North Carolina spring day, so we packed a picnic, pulled his bike out of the garage, and clipped on Piglet Peabody’s leash.
There were more people strolling, running, and biking than I expected. Some people had masks on, and everyone stayed at least six feet from one another. I had our masks in the backpack just in case. It occurred to me that it’s now becoming a social norm to compliment peoples’ masks like you would their shoes.
I waved and smiled at people I didn’t even know—it was just so nice to be out in the community. We laid out a blanket next to my late mother-in-law’s memorial bench and my son sat in my lap while we ate sandwiches, tangerines, and chocolate cookies. No matter what happens with my agent pitches tomorrow, it was the best moment of my week.
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