Inspiration everywhere...

For me, inspiration comes in my car.  Something about the silence of everything, or the music in the background, or looking at the world from behind glass, or something...I have come up with most of my story ideas in my car.  For that very reason, I keep a notebook in there, and have learned to write without looking, so I don't kill myself.  Reading the words later is another story altogether, but I can write without looking.

Last year, while waiting in line to pick up my son, there was a guy who walked up to pick up his son.  He was hot, and I'm a people watcher, so I watched him.  He only picked up his son on certain days, and held a couple of different jobs throughout the year (based on his clothing: first, navy cargo pants and jacket, then dressy office attire).  I determined he was single based on the fact that a couple of Fridays, he met a different car to pick up a bag of stuff, during baseball season, he grabbed a gym bag as well.  The day that he wore a fire department shirt with his cargo pants was the day I came up with Sam.  A single firefighter dad, who picked up his kid every day from school?  How sexy is that?

I've missed him this year.  His son was older than mine, and moved up in the school district to a different school, so I haven't had the eye-candy to watch anymore.  I've missed him.  This week at McDonald's, he walked in the door, and I almost choked on my ice-cream cone.  I was trying to subtly take a picture of him for my facebook page, but he and his sons ended up sitting right next to me, so that would have made me a total stalker.  I did sort of talk to him though.  I totally fangirled, and he's not famous.  And I'm married.

The truth of the matter is, I live in a relatively small town.  I will see him again.  One of these days, I may actually tell him I got the idea for Sam from watching him in silence for nine months.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Now, when inspiration hits me, I try to hit it back.  I don't have time for it.  I've GOT to finish up what I'm currently working on/out in my head/on my laptop before I can start anything else.  And I have to finish painting the new house.  I'm finishing the bathroom today (if I say it enough, it will be so) and one more bedroom, and I'll be done.  Then it's packing...and cleaning...and moving...