The 86 I'll love forever

Let's say you're a student. Let's say you have a full-time job, a growing family, a demanding church calling, and yeah, homework.

So let's say further that one of your professors assigns a take-home midterm. You have one week to complete it. During this week, however, all heck breaks loose at work. As a result, your time at home is consumed with taking care of the family.

You also forgot that the mid-term was worth 25% of your grade. You look at the midterm about 3 hours before it is due. You have a mild cardiac--not associated with the steak dinner you ate the night before.

You do your best, and think, "Well, I'm not sure more time would have helped me with this thing, anyway." You shrug. You print off your work, and trudge to class. You turn in the midterm assuming you've just blown 25% of your grade.

As you walk across campus, you visit with a classmate who says she spent 6 hours on one problem. You shrug, after all, you really did the best you could under the circumstances.

In class, you hear classmates discussing the hours and hours they spent on the midterm. Some spent all weekend. Others were up for hours at night trying to figure it out.

Oh well, at least you have your bachelors degree to fall back on.

Then you get an email from the professor saying grades have been posted. You hesitate... how bad could it really be? You look anyway, part of you secretly hoping for a total disaster of a grade--a hideous blatantly poor grade. The other half of you hopes it's remotely passing.

You see an 86. You pause, and thank yourself for blowing off the midterm until 3 hours before it was due, which saved you undue stress and untold hours of work which might have netted a few more measely points.

You're beyond obsessing about grades...! Well, at least until next time.