It hasn’t been the greatest week at work. Not that the work itself has been bad; some of it has been a joy. But you know how it is from time to time; and I’ve been finding it hard to know exactly how to be.

In private it’s easy: I can curse and let off steam as much as I want. In public, though, not so much.

Now, once upon a time, when my eldest, Miriam, was about 4, I was taking her to the local leisure centre to do what we were pleased at the time to call, ‘gymnastics’, but which was really just children falling over.

Miriam, however, didn’t want to go, so in an effort to persuade her, I said she could ride on my shoulders while her sister, Esther, sat in the pushchair.

And so, we set off up the street.

And after about 20 yards, Miriam was sick on my head.

How to describe this?

It wasn’t runny. It just sat there, like an unstable, unpleasant hat, while I pondered my dilemma.

Do I curse, get Miriam down as fast as I can, and risk making a far worse mess?

Or do I just remain as dignified as possible, turn round, and go home to get Miriam off my shoulders, whilst somehow remaining vertical.

Well, there’s a poem in the Bible called Psalm 112 and in it, the writer says, “the generation of the upright will be blessed”.

So, I took the upright course and it worked.

I got the girls indoors, and the sick hat stayed more or less in place until I made it to the bathroom. And then it’s possible I may have cursed a little.

I’m pretty sure the writer of the poem was not addressing that precise scenario.  Work, however, is another matter.

I reckon we all sometimes find ourselves caught between making a mess worse, and just standing up straight; but I know for a fact that no one gets blessed, least of all me, when I lose my rag.  So, when things are vexing, I will attempt to contain the mess and remain upright. Calm. Perhaps, even, with a modicum of dignity.

Because I know for a fact that dignity is possible, even when your child has vomited on your head.

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The picture at the top is of Coves Haven, on Holy Island in Northumberland