... I'm learning C++ -- Like I don't have anything else to do, eh? ...
February 26, 1999
6:53 p.m.
I was in the middle of giving Brigid her bedtime story last night, when there came this electronic chirping from under the covers. I stopped in the middle of King Caspian's dialog and threw a wayward glance in Brigid's direction. She gave a guilty grin. "Brigid, you can't go to sleep with the phone." "But, Daddy, I have to call Michael." I frowned overbearingly. "You know, I haven't even met this boy." Brigid grinned again. I sighed and continued reading. The phone, you see, is a toy. And Michael is, as far as I can tell, not a real person. But Brigid has wanted her own phone for the past year or two, and now she had something that looked just like one, and she was in the middle of some serious imagination. Who was I to ruin her game? So I put the conversation away. At least until I got up to leave. First, I shut the book, making certain to mark our place. Then I stood up and turned out the lights. "I don't want you up all night talking to Michael," I said as I leaned over to kiss her cheek." "I won't be." "There's school tomorrow, and I want you up early." "Okay." As I walked out of her room to get myself ready for bed, I heard the electronic chirping, then the hushed voice of my 10-year-old daughter arranging dates or just yapping. Whatever. I wanted to step closer, to hear the specifics of what she was saying, to understand how her mind worked at this point in her life. The feeling was like holding her diary in my hands, and knowing the lock was undone. But in the end, I couldn't pry. And, to my surprise, I found that I didn't want to pry. Her story was more powerful to me with this piece missing, this element hers to keep or to give away as she felt proper. In that instant, I learned something about writing. I just wish I could ennuciate it.   Finally have a title for the story I was moaning about a couple days ago. Not sure it'll stick forever, but at least it fits to some degree. Now the story will move into its next phase -- critique and copy editing. Now I focus on what to do next. Have a great day, okay?  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"Ow!" Lisa Collins (She has Yo-yo bruises on both her hands now) |
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