Dutiful

It's the middle of the morning routine, with kids asking for milk and fighting over the fake promotional Disney Visa card that came in the mail on Saturday. I'm trying to keep everyone on track but it's hard.

I've been called for jury duty today.

It's the sixth time this month.

See, in our county, jury duty is for a month long stretch, and there are only four panels of possible jurors each month. So at least once or twice a week since the beginning of January, I've had to trek down to the courthouse, sit in a sequestered room with fifty or so other people, and wait for them to call us into the courtroom.

So far, I haven't been picked. I have, however, gotten a lot of story ideas out of the whole process. (Last week's two-day trial, which took jurors up to and including the person right next to me, sounded fascinating. I was almost disappointed not to be picked!) I'm not getting a lot of writing done this month, because the interruptions from jury duty selection have really thrown off my work and writing schedule. But I'll have a lot of fun stuff to work on once I'm settled back into the routine.

So I'm guessing today is my last time to be called. I'll schlep on down to the courts, notebook in hand, and wait for the process to start all over again. And if I'm lucky, I'll get another story idea out of it!