Do you ever wish you had a time machine? Ever pray that you could back to the moment you had a really bad idea that you thought was pure genius and scream to your deluded past self... "For the love of all that's good don't do it!" OK I'm being dramatic but I'm assuming that unless your an extra terrestrial from a planet where your kind never 'fell', you can relate to this feeling. This week I would mostly like to do over April Fools Day...
I have funny days, they don't come terribly frequently but there are spaces in time where my mind works fast, my mouth delivers something just the way I intended to and this magical thing happens... people laugh. It's quite a rush. (My gorgeous husband knows all about this as it's a daily occurrence for him.)
Sadly this is not my status quo.
Often I'll do or say something that seems totally hysterical in my head and by the time it's out there, sounds waves in the atmosphere never to be retrieved, I realise it's lame, nonsensical, inappropriate or sometimes all of the above. April Fools Day was one of those moments...
I never normally remember this odd little occasion and often realise the afternoon of the 1st and kick myself for not being more on the ball. This year however I was on top of it. I decided the best ruses to catch people out are the plausible ones... hmm what would people believe... I know! The thing everyone assumes whenever I say I have news.
With a grin on my face I emailed Pete G, Andy F and Jon P (with whom I had a meeting later that day) and asked for an extra point on the agenda: how we're going to handle my maternity leave now that a new addition to the Harding family was on the way.
I thought they'd totally twig it was a joke so I tried to be as convincing as I could be... oh dear. After I pressed send I thought I better send another email saying Happy April Fool, just incase they didn't get it.
Sigh
I arrived in Guildford and no-one had read the second email. I felt like a total heal as I saw the delighted look on my friend's faces and learnt how a couple had already started praying for our unborn child. You can probably imagine how bad I felt to see their genuine disappointment as I explained what now seemed like a really cruel joke.
I have now decided that I suck at pranks shall hence forth abstain. My dysfunctional humour gland will have to remain sporadic and spontaneous because when I plan things I totally pitch it wrong... Oh well, at least my gaff was amusing for my dinner guests... xc