Gradness Madness

My best-laid plans have all gone sideways today.

The perfectionist in me would like to have a daily and weekly schedule that rarely changes.  I’d like to sit down in the morning, plan my day, and check things off, according to a lovely structured list.  Yeah, right.  But if that’s not plausible, I’d at least like to be able to accept life’s detours with cheer and good grace.  I definitely need some work in this area.

This morning, a 20-minute errand ended up taking over an hour, which had a domino effect on my whole day.  I didn’t get lunch till 3:00, by which time the combination of low blood sugar and spoiled plans had left me … well, pretty darned crabby.  I started sniping at people.  It wasn’t pretty.

I’d like to be the kind of person who can just go with the flow, rock with the waves.  Who can just say “oh well, I guess it’s plan B, then.”  And with the new school year starting, I really need to get a grip on my attitude.

We’ve all been there.  The hour you planned to spend prepping lessons, or grading papers, is just the time when a student will stop by your office.  The department meeting - the one you didn’t have time for in the first place - runs over.  You needed to review your notes before seminar, and read the last article you didn’t get to, and now you’ve locked yourself out of your office.

It’s tough to remember: take a breath, this is the stuff that life is made of, and we can choose whether or not to take it with good humor.  Getting upset doesn’t change anything.

Easier said than done, but I’m working on it.  And I wish you a stress-free day.

- Flynn