There has been a momentous decision taken in this house tonight. I have decided to buy a pair of trainers. For anyone who knows me in real life, you will know that I have never owned a pair since I left my last job in a pub…and that was more than thirty years ago. I wore Dunlop Green Flash trainers when I did bar work for the simple reason that they were extremely grippy and when you were running around flat out and beer was sloshing everywhere, they were the only thing that worked.

Why this sudden decision? Especially since I’m rapidly hurtling towards middle age, if I’m not there already!

Well, I have decided I can finally “breathe out” and assume that I will achieve QTS this summer. It may be a false hope but I’m going to do it anyway. This means that I now feel justified in spending money on a pair of shoes that I’d never wear UNLESS I get to wear them while I’m teaching small people to do sports. Of course that is a laugh in itself but that’s another story. I’ve been limping along wearing a pair of £3.99 fake converse all stars bought in Trago Mills in a fit of blind panic in November when I knew I’d have to teach sport. Now, I am going to assume I have a need for a proper pair of trainers and I'm jolly well going to buy some. This is a breakthrough decision because it means I believe that I will make the grade (even though I still worry I'll never get a job - an entirely different thing).

There now, I’ve pinned my colours to the mast and declared I CAN do it. I was teaching a “literacy booster” this afternoon and I realised I had not experienced such joy while at work in my entire lifetime. I was sitting with a bunch of young, eager minds who were sucking up information at such a rapid rate it was breathtaking. A dozen earnest faces whose eyes and rapt expressions, while I was explaining what an alter-ego was, made me completely sure that they wanted to learn about words. Magic. Magic. Magic. That cold chill of thrill washed over me and I knew that if every working day could be full of experiences like this then I’ve made a good choice. Green shoots of emergent life are all around me and they’re in my heart too.