Confronting the arch enemy.

Return to work week. Return to meetings, classes, projects, correction and everything else that comes with the teaching profession.

Return to a confrontation with my arch enemy.

 Time.

Time to learn new things. Time to implement new ideas into my practice. Time to transform our library functionality into something more reflective of the things I am used to working with now. Time to meet my commitments. Time to write this blog. Time to raise my children. Time to be a wife. Time to be a daughter. Time to be me.

How do we do it all? Truth is, we can’t. We have to compromise. I have to make do with posting two times a week sometimes because my kids need me more than my readers do. I have to work at my full time job because I have students relying on me and it has to be my primary focus.

There’s no avoiding the push and pull of time that drives our lives. We just have to accept it and do the best we can. Just as I was beginning to write this post, emails came through indicating action on our class Ning. The conversation that is taking place there right now is focused on our study of Michael Gerard Bauer’s, ‘The Running Man’. Our discussion prompt is, ‘The Running Man – your early impressions.’  The emails I received tonight came through at 8.00pm and 9.00pm. Here is what was posted. My comment intersects the two.

“I liked that Joseph didn’t complain like some other shy characters do, this made him far more likeable. I found The Running Man more of an ‘intelligent’ book than ‘Bye, Beautiful’ if that makes sense, this was another reason why I enjoyed it so”

“I think you’re right. It is an intelligent book. It makes you appreciate how language can be woven to create images that make you pause and consider. I think ‘Bye Beautiful’ had similar qualities to some extent. Personally, I appreciated the way that novel was written as well. Could it be, as you suggest, that the likeability of Joseph was a marked contrast to the character of Sandy who many found to be whiny and insipid?”

“Yes I also think that Joseph is a really pleasant character. Most characters that are labelled as shy and introvert are usually quite annoying and whiny like what you have all said. I think Joseph has sort of a peaceful and pleasant feel to him, although he is quite nervous sometimes around people; he’s not the annoying nervous like for example Sandy (as you said). When you’re reading the book you don’t feel impatient with him like -“Oh hurry up already and just spit it out.” –

I haven’t finished the book yet but so far i’m really liking it… for some reason it doesn’t feel like a book that we have to read for school, it’s more like a hobby book. 🙂 ”              

So yes, I am confronting my arch enemy every day. I am battling with my arch enemy, time. But the time I have invested is reaping rewards. And I bet it is for many others out there too.

We just have to realise we can only do what is possible in the hours we have at our diposal.

Deal with it. Accept it. Do the best you can with the time you have.

I’m trying.