As you know, I earn my daily bread teaching college students. As such, the beginning of the semester is always a bit – interesting. The start of this semester was no different. Nothing particularly dramatic, but the usual number of glitches, anxious students, and tech issues made this the sort of time that saw me both lose my keys and rush out of the house without my phone/wallet. It’s funny how important my attitude is when these days hit.
For example, one day I was downright “squirrely” – a lovely Southernism (although Letterkenny borrowed it, too) that means “to be unsettled, nervous, or eccentric.” I was trying to spin plates whilst juggling knives and, sure enough, it wound up not working all that well. (Is anyone surprised that this is the day I lost my keys?) Meanwhile, today when I discovered that I didn’t have my phone and wallet, which meant I couldn’t double-authenticate anything or even access the office printer, I was strangely calm. I wish I had that reaction more often, but I’m a work in progress and the squirrely days will come.
Divas, let me give you a bit of advice for when those whirl-around days come. You really have two options here and only you know yourself well enough to know which one will best suit that moment on that day. First, you can try to Power Through. Switch tasks – you don’t want to keep beating your head against a brick wall. Pick something else on your list – return a few e-mails, organize a stack of papers, walk around the block muttering to yourself if that helps – and return to the task that was making you “unsettled, nervous, or eccentric” later. If necessary, write the new task on your to-do list for the purpose of being able to cross something off that list. (Don’t knock it. That works.) Second, you can Sing the Blues. Push away from the desk altogether, switch off the light, and go home, preferably singing Motown classics out loud with the windows down. (Be sure to make eye contact with anyone in the next lane at all red lights. Do not stop singing.) Once home, run a hot bath, dump in Epsom salts, a bit of coconut oil, and a couple of tablespoons of rum extract. Grab a handful of chocolate (bonus points if you have chocolate doubloons or a fancy pirate bath bomb in your bath stash!), and a tawdry novel. Soak to your heart’s content, roar and splash water on anyone who disturbs you in your Pirate Lair, and have dinner delivered. Once you’ve eaten something, wash your face, say your prayers (I will leave for what and to whom up to your conscience; you’ve had a rough day), and go to bed.
Tomorrow is quite likely to be better. Wear bright colors, add a kicky scarf (at 9:34 here, baby!), put on your best perfume, and get back to it.
Bloom, Divas. It’s our year for it.
Leave a Reply