The Return of the Evil Crossing Guard

School crossing guards are good folks. In my heart I know this. They provide a valuable service to schools and the community in general. But this week, I curse the crossing guard. Because the sight of that crossing guard means the end to my lazy days of summer.

You see, even though it’s been &%$^ years since I graduated high school and had those nice, long summer vacations, I have a habit of taking things just a bit easier in the summer. This summer, I intentionally gave myself a break. Instead of waking at 5:30 a.m. every morning, I awoke at six, and sometimes slept until seven. Ah, how glorious were those mornings! As long as I got in my required writing hours and/or pages, it didn’t really matter what time of the day or night I worked.

However, I told myself that when the kids started school again, I would go back to my pre-summer schedule. Up at the crack of dawn, churning out pages of fiction before most people even raised their sleepy eyelids.

I haven’t looked forward to that day. And this past Monday it arrived with the return of the evil crossing guard. I groaned the moment I saw her. And even though I’d love to pound her shiny whistle with a hammer and write “I hate you” in magic marker all over her bright orange vest, I will curb these awful urges and instead thank the crossing guard with a smile and a wave. After all, she is only doing her job. And by waking before the sun rises and writing my little heart out, I’m only doing mine.

posted by Farrah Rochon @ 1:00 AM Comments: 5