At the end of the day...

Now and again I come across statements like: “Did you ever have one of those days when nothing goes right from morning to night?” And I get so frustrated that I myself never get to the point when I discover that; hang on a minute, this is not one of my spotless, perfect days! This is a day when things go wrong!!!

I work within a profession where planning and going through with the plans, is a demand.
I have plans which deal with the full year, another one deals with the term,then there is one for the period of time involving a specific topic and at last a detailed plan for each lesson.

I am a mum with active kids, and after school activities fill up every square on our activity calender; a pretty confusing, flamboyant display on the kitchen wall. By necessity in plain sight for every one (who pass through the door) to see.


Of course, planning and knowing about what is going to happen that same day, week or month does not prevent life from happening all by itself. And we all know life can not be stalled, directed or in any other way adjusted to what you find would be a comfortable pace.

Let’s take leaving home in a hurry when the phone rings. A very common thing. Phonecalls (which turns out to be both important and never ending) at the most inconvenient times are more the rule than the exeption. Like when you put your jacket on, while wiggling your foot into the second shoe and it takes quite a few panicking moments to find the phone, because it’s ringing from under the stack of mail you have not gotten time to open yet. And you know that you are already late because it takes at least 23 minutes to get where you are going, and you have an appointment in 20.

So you answer the phone (how did we cope with only stationary phones again?), tell them to hang on a sec, get dressed, say you are back as you rush out the door and think for a split second that it is a relief to leave the apartment because, in all honesty, the smell of burned lunch still reeks(some times it is hard to calculate the exact time spent in the bathroom). You try to run between the raindrops (How come Donald Fagen walks between the raindrops with such ease???) failing with splendour, of course, and to top the exit occurrence you just crumple up as the car refuses to start at first attempt and you picture the next four imminent minutes when you try to finish off the conversation you are already engaged in, to call a cab, without brushing the other person off...

And then miracle takes place: the car starts, traffic is light, all the lights are green and you get to your appointment almost on time...

At the end of the day: the students do learn something each lesson. Maybe not exactly what I planned, but still.

The kids are fed, dressed, keep up their activities and attend when invited somewhere. And I... well... unintentionally I get complimented for my carried through, consistent style.

I just smile and say thank you... and know when it is ok to stop talking.
I never tell them that it is my natural haircolour, my hair is never brushed (let alone blow dried), my clothes have never experienced the blessing of an iron, I hardly ever wear any other make-up than mascara or that a good brand in nail polish is worth its price in golden seconds.

I hardly ever see other days than those days when nothing goes right from morning to night... but at night, when the house and the rest of the world goes to sleep, I settle today’s score and I always end up with the notion that when things go wrong, for some reason something good always comes out of it. Most times it is just a matter of perspective.

Quizzes And Authors

I tend to participate on online, informal tests. Not because they add to my wisdom or insight in my own person, but because they often boost my selfesteem.

Of course it has nothing to do with me choosing only subjects I feel rather confident in. Like food and music, and then I post my brilliant score on facebook just to show off how much knowledge I have in subjects of no importance.

A student ones told me: “You know just about everything, you always have an answer, and when I check on your answer online, they always turn out right!” I then replied that: “It has something to do with the nature of the questions you ask. I know a little about a lot of stuff, but never much about anything. My knowledge is great for quizzes and jeopardy but nothing else, really”. I am not, and never will be, an expert on anything.

Or, not quite true; thinking about it I am an expert on saying nothing at all using a lot of long sentences.  I hope to improve and do better, though...  some time in the future. I wish.

Since I love to read I often come across sentences I find just brilliant. Not because they are particularly smart as far as contents is conserned, but because some has the ability to use very few words to say a lot. I, on the other hand, often find myself rambling on forever about nothing at all.

The other day I took this online test about what I should have chosen as my profession. The result turned out to be: “You are an author. You like to have something to do. You have a few good friends, but don’t spend enough time with them. You have a fertile imagination”.

I am far from confident authors around the world would agree on the qualities and prerequisites an author should have. It is almost a disappointment if it should be that simple to become an author. I so admire the way many of them have with words, and think of them as representatives to the art of writing.

Author is to me a great word which holds a world of meaning. I so respect those who can actually put their (great) thoughts down on paper, and when I read what they write I understand exactly what they intend to say.

Then again; not everybody who call themselves authors are good authors. Some abuse the title to achieve some sort of prestige, regardless of how insignificant their writings are.

The thing is that “author” is defined as a person who writes literature. “Author” is not a protected designation, and everybody who writes, every writer, regardless of genre, can, in principle, call themselves “author”.

In spite of the open definition, fortunately The Vancouver Protocol states that in order to be credited as an author, each and every author on a publication needs to have been involved in the:

1.  Conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data AND

2.  Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content AND

3.  Final approval of the version to be published.

 (copied from http://www.authorder.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=47)

So, there is some sort of standard of credibility expected. That’s a relief. Or...is it? Somehow an unwelcome image is stuck in my head now.... you see; Through the years I have read quite a few really well written ladies’ novels and so-called chic lit...