But It’s Open To The Public If YOU Want To Go

There are a number of things that I’m willing to brave (while not necessarily feeling brave) in the name of exploration. I’m not fond of the idea of being trapped underground, for instance, but I’ve explored cave systems under the theory that “they’ve been structurally sound for a long time now, so I like my odds of today not being the day they collapse.”

With that said, if given the opportunity to explore a structure that had catastrophic problems with its construction thousands of years ago, I’m going to pass on that one.

So, So Proud

Today I don’t know what to write. I’m not feeling like being funny today, nor am I feeling morose enough that I feel I have to be funny. With that said, I’m going to tell a joke anyway because now I can do it without feeling disingenuous. It’s not a good joke, but it’s one I wanted to record here because it’s bad and I’m proud of it.

The other day L. and his Mother were talking about the word “wherewithal,” but off the top of their heads, neither could come up with a concise definition. When this was brought to my attention I said, “It’s like a regular withal except on a night with a full moon.”

Today’s Fun History Fact

Today I learned that a particular swear word has a pedigree that extends back at least to the times of Ancient Egypt. I won’t say what it is here, but it was (appropriately, at least in English) being sworn at a donkey, and vaguely rhymes with “castle.”

This made me unreasonably happy.

It’s Just So Rarely Said As Good Thing, You Know?

I know this says more about me than anything else, but when tracking a delivery order, I can’t help but find something a little sinister sounding in the message, “You are next.”

So It’s Not A Total Catch-22

So the bad news is that without the ability to do something (like learning), all the willingness in the world won’t just make it happen.

The good news is that ability can develop over time, and the most frequent starting point for that ability developing is with willingness.

At Least This Helps Make My Point

So when is someone ready to learn? I know from experience that a willingness to learn is always a great place to start, but it doesn’t come with an absolute guarantee. Sometimes it comes down to ability.

(And to give an example of how willingness doesn’t always equate to ability, while I’m feeling much better than I did yesterday, my willingness to think coherently today isn’t granting me the ability, so I’m going to wrap this up for now.)

Too Ill To Elaborate Any Further Today

I think the only way watching someone not being ready to learn what they need to learn wouldn’t frustrate me was if I didn’t care at all, so it’s arguably a good thing that it still frustrates me a little bit. These days though, I’m more likely to go, “They’ll figure it out . . . or they won’t, but I hope they do,” than any other response.

Or Not QUITE So Much, At Least

Now about what I was referencing last week.

I think we’ve all known things that we knew were true, but we didn’t want them to be true. Heck, I think just about any child who has ever known that school was starting soon knows what I’m talking about.

For me the known truth I’ve long struggled with was that someone will only learn something if and only if they are ready to learn it. It doesn’t matter what it is or how much they might “need” to learn it, if they’re not ready for it, they will. NOT. learn. it.

I know this! I’ve seen it action over and over again, and it used to frustrate the hell out of me every damn time.

These days though . . . not so much.

Or Vice Versa

Before I elaborate on what I referenced on Friday, let me just say the problem with asking a child to convey a message on your behalf is that you all too often when you say that you’re feeling “a little warm,” they message delivered is “They’re on fire!”

I’ll Elaborate On This Next Week

Just because you’ve known something for a long time doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve stopped fighting the idea of accepting it.