The Experiment - Day 17

Day 17 of The Experiment where I must complete the tasks that my 10-year-old daughter Rebecca assigns to me.

I noticed one big shift already today: when Rebecca came to me to deliver the day's tasks, I greeted her and the tasks with positivity and enthusiasm, (as opposed to the usual half-asleep grumbly reception). I was already up and about when she brought the tasks (allergies got me up early this morning). But for some reason, even though I was groggy and stuffy, I had a completely different attitude. And I got a big hug from Rebecca in return. I want to repeat this for many mornings to come!

The sun revealed a royal blue clear sky, so while Beth took Rebecca to school, I went out and took some photos of the remaining plant blossoms in the early, golden light. Cool weather comes in a few days, so I thought I should take advantage of the last vestiges of Summer. Here's a photo of our Cardinal Climbers greeting the first rays of sunlight.

Yesterday's tasks went incredibly well, which is a great improvement on the previous day. I sent query letters to a few more literary agents. I don't know why I procrastinate so on this task - wait, yes I do. It's scary to put myself out there; doubts creep in about my children's story. Is it good enough? Or am I just another hack who thinks he's better than he is? It's time to be brave and find out. With each query, the process gets a little easier. I quell my doubts by fantasizing about some day in the future, when my agent calls me with a stunned sound in her voice to inform me that the book has sold a million copies, and that never in her wildest dreams had she expected I would be her most successful author.

I did play a game - and I confess, I did the minimum on this one task: I played a game of Yahtzee by myself. Scored 251 (not bad considering I never rolled a Yahtzee). Rebecca's response was something to the effect of "I guess that counts." I told her if it wasn't enough, that we could play a game together later, but the household tasks of the evening took over and we never got around to it.

I wrote in my gratitude journal about how much I appreciate Beth. But better than that, I expressed my appreciation in person a few times during the day.

I doodled a little bit, too. My doodle turned into a semi-abstract dandelion. If you look at Rebecca's task sheet for the day, you'll see how her doodle of a triangle turned into a portrait of a girl wearing a hat. So I think that is tacit permission to let my doodles transmogrify into tangible things.

Today's tasks are:

1. Try and have 3 conversations where you don't talk about yourself unless someone asks a direct question about yourself.
2. Go down to the neighborhood church and walk around their garden. I may even take my camera, since the light is so good today.
3. Doodle for 15 consecutive minutes.

I'll tell you how I did tomorrow!