Francis Gay We should all look for an easy job on difficult days

I regularly peek over my neighbour’s fence expecting to find her potting something or pruning something.

But, this time, she was softly brushing the dirt off the angled bricks and paving that bordered her path.

“Too much attention to detail?” I suggested.

“No,” she replied, with a simultaneously weary and hopeful smile. “An easy job for a difficult day.”

She had learned the phrase in a

The Olsens had taken their children and some of their school friends to the beach.

On the way back the children began discussing what they would do if they ever met a shark in the sea. The answers involved a lot of surprisingly happy shrieking. One brave soul said he had heard punching the shark on the nose worked! Seven-year-old Elias surprised everyone by saying he would train it and ride it to his grandparents’ house. “Where do they live?” I asked Nicola, his mother. “America!” she replied. “Good answer,” I said.

“That’s just what he does,” she replied. “Train sharks?” I asked. “Not yet,” she said with a laugh. “But if his seven years have taught him anything, it’s how to turn a negative situation into a positive one!”

Training a shark! What a great way to describe turning a bad attitude into a better one! meditation class. On the days when everything seems too much, find something so easy to do that you normally wouldn’t bother to. Having done it, you gained a little sense of achievement, which made the next thing on the list all the easier.

It seemed such a useful idea, and one I thought was too good not share.

I am sure we all have days when doing anything useful seems impossible. When you, give yourself a break, and a helping hand, find an easy job for a difficult day.

When Jennie married for the second time, her children were almost adults.

It seemed too late for

Ed, her new husband, to become a proper part of the family. But that was just how it was. The children were fine, he was fine, everyone had enough work and hobbies to fill their time. But, still...

Then her eldest daughter had a daughter and Jennie’s focus totally changed.

But she wondered how Ed would respond.

Last week he came home late after a busy day. As she was heading to bed, he sat down and opened his laptop. She sighed. Two hours later, when he came to bed, she asked what he’d been working on. “Learning to sing Hushabye Mountain from Chitty Bang-bang,” he told her. “Real grandads know lullabies. And I didn’t. But I do now.”

Then he sang to her in the dark. She’s sure she fell asleep with a smile on her face!

There’s a seaside viewpoint favoured by birdwatchers. Occasionally there are metal detectorists. Both are usually too engrossed in their hobbies to be very sociable. But, George, a “twitcher”, couldn’t stay away when he saw Jim, a detectorist, having car trouble. He brought his car around and gave Jim a jump-start. Jim thanked him and went for a drive to recharge the battery. After a good hour of spotting, George was packing up his stuff when he realised he had lost his car keys in the sand. There was no one around and the nearest town was three or four miles away. George was about to despair when a newly re-charged Jim arrived back in the car-park – with his metal detector! A short while later, they were both on the road home. They say one good turn deserves another, but it rarely happens so quickly!