...
Jess is pacing in the bedroom again. I know she has an essay due, and she - like her father - has left it to the last minute.
"I do my best work when under pressure," I used to tell my mother when she asked me why I didn't start work until it was almost too late, staying up into the night to complete an assignment, and then rushing to the class to hand it in with just a few minutes to go. These days, the essay is submitted online, which leaves even more time for last-minute changes. I sometimes wonder what my life would have looked like if I could plan better, if I procrastinated less. If I was able to complete the tasks on the list in a more efficient manner. I was a good list-maker. I was just not that good at ticking the tasks off the list. I brewed a fresh pot of coffee, and took a cup up to my daughter's bedroom, leaving it outside on a tray.