Getting my ducks (gulls) in a row

For some reason the phrase getting your ducks in a row has always made me giggle. Depending on which explanation you read it comes from a bowling game, from pool or the shipbuilding industry. Either way it means to have all preparations in order for the thing you need to do. 

As a toddler my niece would line up her rubber ducks on the edge of the bath like she was rounding off the day and getting ready for tomorrow. So when I saw these gulls lining up on the river bank I just had to take a picture.

As I’m nearing the end of my teacher training course, I’m preparing all my coursework and assessments, all the paperwork I need and it feels very much like I’m trying to line up some very uncooperative gulls! Checking I’ve got the assignments, the evidence, the coversheets, all saved in the right place, with the right file names and then uploaded to the system is an exercise in patience and concentration. Maybe I can learn from my niece in calmly lining my ducks up at the end of the day.