oh, for a normal day

Although I like to consider myself a bit of a free spirit, lately I’ve realized that I’m very much a creature of habit, particularly when it comes to writing. My perfect day is this:

Get up at an ungodly (for me, anyway) hour
Drink coffee, make lunches, drink more coffee, take healthy children to school or drug them so that no one at school will know they’re not healthy. (Ha, ha. Just kidding, of course…. would never stoop to such a low level, unless of course there was a major deadline.)
Go to coffee shop, write from 8:30 to 12-ish (or until 1500 words complete — this includes chatting time, which is evidently an integral part of my morning writing)
Go home, eat lunch, check e-mail, blog, do other household tasks
Exercise from 1:30 – 2:30
Resume parenting duties until bedtime.

The problem happens when I schedule other events in there, or have things like page proofs due. Or children who start projectile vomiting. Like today, in fact! The kids, who were a bit under the weather last night, went to school late; right after dropping them off, I went to a marvelous talk I wouldn’t have missed for the world, then gave a talk to my daughter’s second grade this afternoon (I got to wear hats from the dress-up box). Then I picked everyone up and finished reviewing the page proofs for Beads of Doubt, which are, in fact, due today. (I just sent them.)

In short, my word count is a big fat zero, and I’m feeling more than a bit discombobulated. If that’s the word I want. (I did, however, squeeze in a 20-minute walk.) Now it’s time to read chapters for the critique group tonight, which fortunately is pleasurable work. And I can hear the dishwasher calling me…

But tomorrow should be normal.

I hope.

When did I become so set in my ways? And when do you all write?