Even under the best of circumstances, this would be a pretty bad idea for me to entertain. It's just like how I tend to think of great ideas as I'm falling asleep, but, because I am, after all, falling asleep, I can't drag myself out of bed to find some paper. Or even drag my arm out of bed to write on some paper that might be (in theory) placed on my bedside table. Actually, "tend to" is probably not accurate; I don't do that very often. But it's annoying when I do.
But these are not the best of circumstances, at least as far as remembering good ideas is concerned. I've grown used to cruising through tasks with a minimal expenditure of effort, procrastinating more than I probably should, working like mad for a short, concentrated, stress-filled period of time, and then strolling on to the next task. This assumes a medium to slight level of interest, the kind typically generated by work at school, college, or...well, work. Now, I'm by no means the kind of person who breezes though every assignment with a minimal amount of work and stress. No, that would be my friend David, whose ability to do that is a source of constant irritation. That's just what I aspire to.
All of which might be a tolerable way to lead one's life, but it just doesn't work for parenting. Fortunately, it doesn't work for David, either, and that's some comfort. Parenting just takes a ridiculous amount of effort (unless you are blessed with a child that sleeps most of the day; my daughter takes after me and disdains sleeping as a waste of precious time), and, because of that, little things like good ideas for columns tend to get tossed out the overflow chute of the brain.
(Personally, I blame Lictor. He's had a kid for years, and yet he never fully impressed upon me the sheer amount of work required to raise them. And the lack of sleep, the inability to think coherently, and the constant search for new ways to hold and entertain your child so that she doesn't become uncomfortable and/or bored, both of which lead to crying. Oh, and he could have advised me to carry a 10-pound sack of flour around for a few months, or advised me to engage in upper body exercise, or something. But did he? No, he did not.)
Now I remember one of the ideas for the column. But I think I'll save it for next week. And although you can't see it, and have no reason to trust me, I'm writing it down. Really.