Do I Have To?

This weekend, instead of going out to enjoy the perfection of summer weather we've been blessed with, I mostly stayed in the house and worked. Being a writer is always fun, but there are times that one must put one's nose to the grindstone and get a project finished. It's really like any job. Of course, I would rather have played outside all weekend, or just hung around reading the last Harry Potter in a hammock, so I could take naps between exciting bits. But it was not to be. It was a little like being a kid and mum telling me I have to clean my room/go to the mall with her to buy socks and underwear/go to the Y's craft class she signed me up for without my knowlwdge (I still hate crafts), before I could go out and play. Only this time, I was in the roles of both the kid and the mom. There was no one but me to ask, "Do I have to?" There was no one to blame. But it was fine, really. I got my work done, I accomplished a lot. It felt good. Kind of like the craft class, where I made lopsided potholders and bracelets from gimp, and once put glue in Theresa Szot's hair, because she wanted me to glue a flower to her head. A big orange sunflower.
So for the exercise today, I'm going to make you ask "Do I Have To?" I'd like you to do something you wouldn't ordinarily do, and try to have some fun. It could be going to a little league baseball game if you don't have kids. It could be going to mall or a museum if you normally hate malls or museums. It could be singing in church. Just something to challenge you, stretch you a little. Commit your Acts of Attention, as many as you can, then write, draw.