No. 77, Friday, 20th. February 2026

After a day of doing almost nothing I suspect I am likely to achieve little today. I am recuperated and could get on with finishing a task that has occupied me for much of the week but, even if I get started on that, I shall be interrupted by having to leave home at a quarter past one to get a bus into town. I have an appointment. Furthermore, this break in my day, which need be no longer than two hours, will be extended by at least another two because I rashly suggested to my son that I could meet him in town for a drink afterwards.

I have learned this lesson so many times in the past: do not make commitments unless you know you are definitely going to be able to keep them. The reason? I do not like to let people down. I pick my words carefully, so ‘I will see you at 2 on Wednesday’ is definite, whereas ‘I may be able to make it on Wednesday’ is a possibility – no promises.

However, for some people the words ‘possibly’ ‘perhaps’ and ‘maybe’ are heard and recorded as definite set-in-stone covenants. My mother is one of them, and as a result I have learned to rarely make plans at all, if only to save upset when a tentative plan is perceived as ‘broken’.

As a result of my rash suggestion it is highly unlikely that I shall be cooking my Scottish smoked haddock for dinner tonight, and I shall be no further forward with my current task. But on the bright side I will have a brand spanking new haircut and enjoy good conversation. I think this might be called Living in the Moment, and it would appear that it can be quite recuperative.