Life: It's Where Stories Come From

The other night I was sitting at the computer when I heard the familiar thump-thumping of little feet heading down the steps. Sniffles accompanied the thumps, and I turned around to see the distraught face of my nine-year-old boy as he rounded the corner. "Bugs!" he whisper-yelled.

"What?"

"Bugs in my bed!" Sniff-sniff. "I felt them crawling all over me and when I turned on my light I saw a spider-looking thing on my bed!"

Stifling chuckles, I followed my frantic son upstairs and inspected his bed. Sure enough, there was a little black tick crawling on his blanket. I gave the unfortunate insect a ride down the toilet drain, inspected my son and his bed, and changed the covers. He crawled back into bed, slapping his shoulder where he was sure he felt something.

But if there was something, it probably made its way down the hall into my daughter's room. Just don't tell her I said that!

I don't know if this little anecdote will ever make it into one of my stories (though maybe a poem....hmm...), but the point is that life is full of moments like this. Life is where stories come from. So the next time you find yourself stuck without an idea, maybe you just need to go out and live a little.