The CLAW

Happy Birthday, Superman!

My middle son, code name Superman, is obsessed with the arcade game, 'the CLAW'. He talks about not being able to resist playing if there are coins jingling in his pocket, even though he says he knows, with his head, that it is a scam. He says he just can't stop his heart from wanting to play.

Today is his eighth birthday, so we got him a table top version of the CLAW, equipped with fake coins and all. I'm hoping that he'll get all the joy and none of the heartache from the home version. Not to say this version is easy. But it is doable. And free.

Writing is my claw game. I work so hard at it, and rarely come up with that gem. That phrase, or idea which I know is gold.

Or, in this case, the tootsie roll. :)

I have been mining my mind the last couple of days, and came up with some great gems which will enhance my current work in progress. I haven't been actually writing, since I've also been dealing with a migraine. 

I was picking up Superman's cake, when I started to feel the brain confusion. Which meant that I had a very short amount of time to get home before I couldn't see enough to drive. Then things start going numb, and the headache and nausea set in.

Right now, I feel like my brain is missing some key elements. But I feel so much better, and I know this will pass. Of all the things that people suffer with, the things that people don't feel whole from within a few days, I feel lucky.

And, I'm surrounded my children who take care of me, a husband who comes home and takes care of our kids (and our kids' friends too) and me, and who cooks and cleans, and keeps things running when I can't.

Tomorrow I'll feel whole.

And, then, I'll start to work the CLAW again.

How about you? Do you have any weakness for a carnival game which you know stack the odds against you? Does your heart rule your head? How is your writing life going? Has your claw plucked out any gems recently? And--do you have any magic wands for migraines?

And please be sure to stop by on Friday, for a special holiday edition of my Friday Feature interviews, where we talk with the vibrant writer, Daniel McInerny, about his charming Middle Grade books about the Kingdom of Patria.