Been thinking about ‘Time’ a lot lately, how we use/spend it. The whole concept of ‘Wasting Time’ is fascinating. I don’t believe it’s possible!

Time is an invisible, free commodity

We use it. Like we use air, thoughts, or feelings, we can’t see or feel them. We notice the effects of the passing of time, for sure, but it’s an indescribable resource that we have at our disposal, to use as we choose.

Well, most of the time… So, is it possible to waste time? The idea that it is possible to waste it seems to suggest that we ought to be using our time differently.

Who says so?

Here are 25 Ways that  I’ve been told, over the years, that I’m Wasting My Time:

• learning new computer skills;
• thinking I’ll meet a man who is ‘husband material’;
• taking an interest in gardening, starting from scratch;
• buying a camera and starting to take pictures;
• discovering  my own ‘style’ of dress/fashion;
• thinking I could cook a decent roast dinner;
• imagining I could travel to China alone;
• learning to drive;
• uploading photos to my computer;
• mastering ‘Word’;
• using an i-phone;
• programming a video recorder;
• writing a decent short story;
• lighting a wood burner properly;
• training to be a confidence coach;
• using Sat Nav;
• giving a talk;
• leading a work shop;
• sitting doing nothing;
• gazing at the Caribbean sea;
• teaching Dyslexics;
• conquering a snake phobia;
• standing in the garden, listening to a blackbird;
• watching ants being busy;
• writing a blog.

I have successfully undertaken every one of those 21 ‘activities’ that I was told, at some point, were a waste of my time. And…guess what? I enjoyed every single one.

The post 25 Ways To Waste Time appeared first on Positive Spin Blog.

Edmund Hillary

When it was suggested I should write a blog, I had to admit I felt powerless, pathetic, and pessimistic.

‘But I don’t know how to do it!’ I whined.

I was stuck, and I felt a bit of a fraud. 

After all, I’m supposed to be ‘Mrs Confident’, guiding my clients to a more confident life, for goodness sake.

On my walk around the lane in the pale winter sunshine (my grand effort at keeping fit…), I spotted some clumps of snowdrops, bravely blooming amongst the brambles. 

 Gradually, my face relaxed.  I was beginning to warm up. 

I was also beginning to believe in myself

Back in the warmth of my study, I couldn’t wait to switch on my computer. 

My heart pounded (yes, really!) as I logged on to WordPress for the first time.

A tiny blue jug of snowdrops sits on my desk as I write today.

The post If the Snowdrops Can Bloom appeared first on Positive Spin Blog.

Everything I tried seemed wrong

I looked too fat, too frumpy, too old (!), too…. well… too unlike my 18-21 year old self. We were all training to teach, and within the first week or so of college, we’d become firm friends. And today we were meeting up after 40 years.

There were five of us, all students in the same corridor in the hostel, and we soon discovered that we shared much in common.

We shared

Values. We wanted to teach. We were fascinated by children’s development and learning from 7 to 11 and wanted to be part of their education. We wanted their school days to be fun, spontaneous, child-centred, and memorable. We were ‘in love’ with teaching and all that it implied. We were all full of naive optimism and a blossoming confidence.

Attitudes

Many of our attitudes to children and to teaching were the same. We wanted the best for our future pupils. We worked hard, tried to pass our exams, stayed up late preparing for our teaching practices, and stayed up even later sobbing over boyfriends. We told each other everything, gave advice, encouraged one another to be positive when teaching practice was a bit of a challenge, and kept secrets if asked.

New experiences

We could hardly wait to learn… about Chinese food, drinking in pubs, dancing the ‘twist’ (thanks, Tuck, for showing me the right ‘technique’), mini skirts, and suede coats.

We spent our ‘student grant’ – yes, it was that long ago! – with care, shopping in Dorothy Perkins and only peering in the windows of Russell and Bromley. 

If funds allowed, we would even go into town (London) to walk down Carnaby Street, where everyone seemed ‘trendy’.

We rode on the backs of scooters, often without helmets! Amazingly, one of us even had a car, and sometimes we walked down the never-ending,  dark driveway back to college late at night, in the rain, after the last tube had dropped us at the station. No money for taxis!

Trips home were rare as fares were expensive even then. Once or twice, Judy and I hitch-hiked home, a practice that seemed safe back then.

Naive optimism

We were 18 when we met. So much ahead of us. We couldn’t have imagined then what lay ahead  – cancer treatment (successful!), family upsets, deaths, weddings, babies, promotions, realisation of ambitions, and the arrival of grandchildren. 

At 18, I would have been very concerned at the idea of one day having a child, let alone a grandchild! And so…we met up… At a holiday cottage in Dorset, where one of us was staying with her OH.

And as soon as we saw one another all thoughts of my appearance were forgotten. I squealed with excitement and  tried to hug everyone at once. I couldn’t believe it!

Champagne was drunk, ( a friend had lent me her ‘everyday’ champagne glasses, I kid you not, in case the cottage had nothing suitable,) and we drank a toast to Judy, who couldn’t be there.

We told one another that we all looked the same, none of us had changed a bit, although we all knew that wasn’t true.

Or was it?

What we shared was exactly the same, except for one aspect: the naive optimism. We still had the same values and attitudes. Only the naive optimism had gone, squashed under a layer of paperwork, politically correct rules and regulations, and sheer hard work in our classrooms.  

But we knew that what we had shared in the 1960’s had lasted through the years. Laughter, tears, love, caring, concern for one another’s health, interest in family, divorces, remarriages, births, and deaths, all were as strong as ever.

Still there, for all to witness

We’re scattered around the country now of course. But if anyof us is sad or needs a listening ear, we know we can call. Whenever one of us is ‘in the area’ she always tries to visit, even if it’s only for a couple of hours. Squeals of excitement and gales of laughter echo all around us, just like the squeals and laughter of those ‘apprentice teachers’ long ago.

This post is for them, and their  OH’s – Ros, Tuck, Les, and Judy. I’m lucky to have known you at such an essential stage in my life, and lucky that our friendship has kept us company and supported us throughout the years.

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