Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

The tooth fairy does not exist. No amount of wishing, hoping, dreaming, and whatever it is that children do when a baby tooth falls from their mouth, will change that fact. Sometimes – many times – adults at work wish there is a tooth fairy and we wish we can just jump into the work without first thinking.

Let’s begin with something that may dash the hopes, dreams, and wishes of children (and adults) everywhere:

The Tooth Fairy does not exist.

Sorry to begin a blog post with such ugly reality, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

A recent event at work brought me crashing back to adulthood and reminded me of the absence of the tooth fairy.

We had a job to do. We knew that we needed to gather about a table, put all the evidence in front of us, study it, contemplate it, think through all of it, and then, and only then, begin working on it. We all gathered for five minutes on a telephone conference. One person said a few things that led the rest of us to believe that all would be easy, all would be well, and we wouldn’t have to gather and think so much. We could just jump into the work.

Well,

The Tooth Fairy does not exist.

Several 14-hour days later, we finished the work just before the deadline. Rats!

It is a rare occasion when we can just jump into the work. The norm is that thought – deep, strenuous thought – should precede work.

I love those rare occasions when we can just jump into the work and “get it done.” They are so much fun.

I hate those rare occasions when we can just jump into the work and “get it done.” They return the possibility that the tooth fairy does exist. That is poison, because as we all know

The Tooth Fairy does not exist.

By the way, have I mentioned,

The Tooth Fairy does not exist.

If I haven’t, let me state just one more time:

The Tooth Fairy does not exist.

Perhaps if I write this often enough, I will remember that:

The Tooth Fairy does not exist.

The next time a task rears its ugly head, perhaps, maybe, just maybe, I will remember that:

The Tooth Fairy does not exist.

and we will gather about a table, put all the evidence in front of us, study it, contemplate it, think through all of it, and then, and only then, begin working on it.