- Dear DadFace
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- Writing Has Been Murder
Hey!
I was writing a letter to you titled “7 Years with the Wrong Woman” when I realized you might have forgotten all about your old DadFace.
I haven’t written you in over a month.
Because my day job went wild, that’s why. I work for a State Representative in the Texas Legislature, so that’s not entirely unusual. In Texas, we have a part-time legislature that meets every odd-numbered year. Yes, odd years they are.
Just to give you an idea, about halfway through the session, the Texas House expelled a member. Actually sent the man home. They unanimously voted to kick him out of office in a procedure that reminded me of that scene in Mary Poppins where the DadBrain in the movie is excommunicated from the bank he worked at. In Texas, it hasn’t been done since 1927.
But the House Committee on General Investigating was just getting started.
The month of May is the last month of the 5-month Regular Legislative Session, so of course it’s the wildest.
MomBrain and all three of the offspring were traveling back and forth with me most of that time. They endured making the 3 hour journey from our forest cottage on DuckYard Farm to an always different Austin AirBnB.
In May, with one week to go in the Legislative Session, the General Investigating Committee announced it was time to impeach someone. The Texas Legislature has only successfully impeached two people in the history of forever.
It’s been 100 years since we impeached a statewide official. But suddenly — and I mean about 3 days after most Representatives discovered it was even an option — the House was voting on impeaching our Attorney General. Just when I think I’ve seen it all…
In this time, The Amazing Jillian has gotten even smarter and has to decided to teach her younger sister how to read as much as she does.
The Extraordinary Ellia has proclaimed her intentions of becoming “a leader.”
Felicity the Favored has started saying “Hi” and “Buh-bye” to people, mostly “Buh-bye,” but people aren’t offended because she gives them a sweet smile and a wave.
Buh-bye,
-DadFace
DadFace Directive:
Getting back into writing has been murder. On Monday, I spent an hour or two fiddling with one paragraph.
Tuesday I finally started to get a few ideas percolating. Then just when I was starting to jot down a story about some rollie pollies, I noticed an unfinished letter about our Seventh Wedding Anniversary.
And that reminded me to remind you that it’s good to keep a bit of half-baked writing on you.
I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.
I find editing to be easier than drafting. And sometimes editing a line or two, rewriting half a sentence, it’s just the motivation I need to launch into something new. There’s some famous writer who started his day out by editing what he wrote the day before as a way of getting started (I’ve been looking for his name and haven’t rediscovered it just yet… so stay tuned).
P.S. — Why is that letter I’m working on called “7 Years with the Wrong Woman?” Rest easy, MomBrain is 100% the right woman.
You’ll just have to read it to understand.