The Crushing Weight of Continuity

I love the title for this post, but am having a terrible time discerning why. The story behind it is a common exerience i.e. driving for nine hours straight, and was meant to reveal why after long car trips wear people down. Words, however, escape me because I am extremely tired. The mental effort of keeping my car on the road robbed me of all my mental reserves. The state of continual focus on a scene of pavement, trucks, and skid marks took all my cognitive abilities except those of the sensory perceptions. Mental strength and endurance parallel physical attributes. Both must be exercised or they will be lost, and apparently I need more practice.

Story One:
There once was a boy who thought very little. As he lay on his bed, his mind raced across a field of nothing. He could stand, eat, listen, and sometimes follow simple directions.

One day, the boy woke to his mothers call.
His mother said, "Come." He came.
His mother said, "Eat." He ate.
His mother said, "Listen!" And he thought about it.
"Do I have too?"
His mother smiled. That was a beginning.

A few months later, the boy climbed into bed at night. His mother tucked him in and turned off the lights. As he lay under the sheets, his mind raced over fields of color.

Story Two:
There once was a boy who moved very little.
His father kindly kicked him off the couch and made him play something.
The boy moved more.

Gotta love short stories. Short short stories.