Monday

When I was getting off the bus this morning I saw a little boy, dressed in his school uniform, he was a primary school student, struggling to come to grips with the fact that another Monday morning had happened again. His mother was fussing over him to put his back pack on, his eyes were tightly shut and I could almost see a tear squeezing out of the corner of one eye. I could almost hear him sigh ‘Why Monday, why do you have to be so cruel?’ Many of us adults struggle with Mondays especially after a long holiday weekend. And with the end of term squarely in our sights we can almost see the end of the marking, and report cards and grade entering and all other forms of end of term procedures. Do we have the strength to make it to the finish line? Of course we do! But just to give you a little bit of encouragement, here is a classic poem by Edgar Albert Guest entitled – Don’t Quit!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

when the funds are low and the debts are high,

and you want to smile but you have to sigh,

when care is pressing you down a bit –

rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns.

As everyone of us sometimes learns.

And many a fellow turns about

when he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow –

you may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

it seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up

when he might have captured the victor's cup;

and he learned too late when the night came down,

how close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out –

the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

and when you never can tell how close you are,

it may be near when it seems afar;

so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit –

it's when things seem worst, you must not quit.