Ducks in a Row

‘Getting your ducks in a row’… getting all of the details of a plan prepared and organised…

Musing… ‘Ducks in a row’… mother duck with ducklings following her… ducks flying in v-formation…

Childhood memories…

• … firing air rifle pellets at ‘ducks in a row’ at the fair – targets moving on a conveyor belt system
• … our neighbours’ three painted plaster ‘ducks in a row’ flying in a diagonal line up their living-room wall.
• …watching Donald Duck with his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie… ‘ducks in a row’.

I’ve finally finished being treasurer of ‘The Seagull’ Theatre. I sent the end-of-year details to our accountant yesterday…

For 13 years I’ve managed bank statements, spreadsheets, credit-card payments, cash, reporting procedures… financial Seagull ‘ducks in a row’.

In recent weeks I’ve identified the financial Seagull ducks in my row and handed each one over to Kelly. I’m confident that she’s putting them in a new improved financial Seagull duck row.

Last night I was talking with Patrick about his children growing up and leaving home, about the ducks that needed to be in a row for this to happen successfully… somewhere to live, a job, financial security, a partner, a car, friends… qualities like confidence, independence, purpose, resilience, happiness…

We discussed how different parents and children prioritise different ducks… which ducks were essential, which ducks were desirable for the row to be complete…

Musing… Having your ducks in a row is good but…

…sometimes life is disorganised or unorganisable. The couple who are desperate for children but can’t have any, the unexpected redundancy, the diagnosis of dementia, the relationship breakdown…

…ducks have left the row… lost, flown away, out of sight… Donald may be leading, but Huey refuses to get in line, Dewey wants a rest and Louie goes missing.

…St Thomas Aquinas said: ‘To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.’ Faith is bigger than an organised row of ducks!