With respect

Day 11: smidgins of joy

How you say it might give rise to smidgins of joy.

Two elements on my patch of the planet are converging: an interim deadline for a large revision project, and my practical driving test. The latter is penance for letting my first licence lapse while my beloved was leaving the planet, while the former is an honour.

Although none of this was originally planned that way, both occur at slightly different times two days from now. Both require a certain amount of self-control – so far, so good, tough wood.

Just before a driving lesson this morning, my driving instructor was complaining to the receptionist about someone who was ill-prepared for his test, yet insisting he take it.

“And,” he said, “with respect, and pardon the expression, he drives like sh–!” So I chirped, “With respect, eh? That it was said with respect is what I like!” The driving instructor and everyone present thought this was hilarious.

This shared smidgin of joy made for a pleasant lesson for me, despite the fact that I generally parked like sh–, and failed to notice two Stop signs. Never mind. Onward, as they say.

At the beginning of my lesson, we had to drop another much younger learner driver off at his home. The instructor was telling him how to keep his nervous system in check, otherwise, he would make himself sick. I agreed, saying that you need to believe in your abilities, and “just do it”. Just whom I was addressing is anybody’s guess!

Upon returning to my long text for revision, the first word to catch my eye was “neuroscience”. Go figure.

©2019 Allison Wright