It has been cold here, so the 1 pm walk/run has been eradicated from the schedule. Instead, I hop on the Stairmaster, but only if it is 40 degrees or above, as such hopping requires a dash across the yard to the back house. In Texas, some houses have back houses, separate little buildings that could have been garages or extra bedrooms. They are also called “quarters,” the kind of quarters for guests.
All of this is irrelevant. Except for the cold part. I have lost my tolerance for it, I am embarassed to say, and even a trot across the little lawn is too unpleasant at 39 degrees. So, I stay inside and exercise in my bedroom. I do aerobics in my bedroom, in front of a mirror, just like the eighties.
“What did you do today?” my daughters will ask.
“I did aerobics in my bedroom,” I tell them. They look at each other, thinking, “What. What have we been given in this person. What does it all mean?”
Anyway, when I do aerobics in front of my parents’ antique oak mirror, which has moved as many times as I have, I think of other things. That is because aerobics is boring. I should inject, here, that I do not do the traditional Jane Fonda-style work-outs, but have my own modern take, more dance, more Fosse, more moi. The ideas that pop into my brain when I do this are generally very good. I learned a long time ago that when you are a writer, you are always writing, even when you are at the movies or having a little snack or doing aerobics in your bedroom.
Today was terrific. I’ve been working on a nonfiction book that today became a “concept.” A whole “thing.” Not just one, but many. It could be many. I am not going to say what it is. It is going to be a secret. When I got the idea, I was finished exercising. That is how it works because then, you have to do the idea. But since I needed to go to my daughter’s basketball game in fifteen minutes, I had to shower before doing the idea. In the shower, if you can believe the wealth, I had another fabulous jolt of creativity. Yet another something poured out of the head into my head and I had to stay there until it was finished. It was a long shower.
I tell the girls to hurry up in the shower. The younger one uses enough water for a small nation. Maybe I should permit it, I am thinking now, as long as she emerges not only clean, but inspired.
Pamela Gwyn Kripke 
Oooh, concepts are exciting. ^^ Good luck in getting it written out exactly the way you’ve imagined it.
I agree that writers are always writing – and yes, definitely at the movies – always writing. Even when I repeatedly slipped and fell into a puddle of hot, spilled soup over Christmas, I was thinking it would make a good story.
I hope you have great fun writing your new book, as much fun as you had coming up with it.
Hi Ruth! Thank you so much for reading so much. I read something today about a writer who stopped writing for six months. I don’t know how that works. I think that a lot can come from spilled soup. Write it!
Best,
Pam
You have a great writing style.I came across your post from Google and thought it rocked. How long have you been writing on the internet?Not long ago I recently started a blog on my own and its been a really fun process. I’ve met some new friends since then although it is frustrating at times! Once again, thanks a million for your blog post!
Welcome, and thank you! So glad you found the blog, and hope you continue to read. I started likeasinglemom about a year ago, or so, and have been writing for publications for about twenty. It is fun, yes….so keep at it. What do you find frustrating?
Best,
Pam