WHAT stopped you from writing all day?

You know... We hear all sorts of things that interrupt our writing flow. The phone won't stop ringing. The kids get sick. You get sick, for that matter. Appointments. Meetings... I've got to say I've encountered a new one.

I took most of the day off yesterday to take the kids to the local amusement park. And I got stung by a yellow jacket...an inch or so in from the span between thumb and forefinger.

I iced it down then went to the first aid station for ibuprofen. They also gave me lidocane wipes to dull the pain that didn't work worth squat. Well, they did, sort of. They numbed the fingers on the opposite hand that were pressing on the wipes. They didn't seem to have any effect on the sting, at all.

I managed to do the day at the park, though my hand swelled so markedly that I couldn't make a fist and the ring I wear on my middle finger wouldn't fit on my pinky. I couldn't hold a piece of paper, let alone a pen, and pressure on my fingertips was excruciating. So, I got no writing done when I got home from the park. Why does this sound like "The dog ate my homework?"

I did learn some fun facts about myself. I always knew I was moderately ambidextrous, though I don't write left-handed unless I have to. I always knew I could eat with either hand (use the fork and spoon and such). Until I injured my hand yesterday, I never knew I could skeeball as effectively with my left as I could with my right. Pumping fist in the air. Yeah...I can finally make one.