What would YOU do?

Are you good at improvising or thinking out of the box? I like a challenge and enjoy finding solutions to problems others might readily give up on.

When children are stuck indoors, you can still offer lots of winter activities. No coats, no mittens, no boots.

The snow is gone, the weather was too cold to play outdoors, and Alex and Charlie's mom forgot their car seats. So, stuck inside, we improvised. I drew snowmen figures on paper plates with arms in  different positions. We skipped around singing, "Ring around the Rosie, pocket full of posy, snowmen, snowmen, STOP LIKE THIS!" 

The boys stopped in these poses, laughed and skipped some more as I held up snowmen cards, one at a time: touching head, ears, tummy, back, the floor, bent over, arms raised, arms extended out to sides, on hips, elbows bent. Great physical activity.

 
 We used cotton balls for snow balls, tongs to pick them up, to make groupings 1-10, and then blindfolded, they used tongs to transfer cotton balls into a container. Oh the laughter and cheering.

The boys have been wanting to play with trucks and tractors. I would have brought snow inside if we had any (I am not wishing), instead I got out the kiddie pool and clean cat litter, and they played for an hour.

If you are a writer, how do you improvise? 

If you get off track do you swerve back on topic, or proceed with a new idea?

If you miss a submission deadline, do you give up or send elsewhere?

If the topic is cooking, can you come up with an item other than food that can be cooked? Think about that. Not everything cooked is edible.

I sent a story to a call out about Love Stories and Food.

I supposed most entries would be about romantic love. I wrote about the love of a best friend and how we baked together. 

How do you improvise or think out of the box? Bet you do so more than you think.

On Friday, the boys were so anxious for their mom to arrive. They threw themselves on her and both tried at the same time to share with her these activities they particpated in. 

Charlie laughed loud and said, "Alex, did you hear Mom? She just said, 'Holy gracious!' "

Alex said, "Huh uh! Mom meant, 'Holy mackeral!' "

Charlie cackled, "No way, Mom don't say that. Mom says, Holy 
shit. "

Wide-eyed mama panicked.
I turned my head.
Papaw improvised. "No way, boys. It's, Holy SHIP!"

They really thought they had learned something. 

We adults couldn't stifle the laughter.