This morning I woke and saw a meme (“humorous image spread rapidly by Internet users”) on my phone. Not unusual these days. However, a reference to the idiom “ducks in a row” made me chuckle, which was most unusual following a scary dream. A kind, older neighbor texted it in the middle of the night, knowing I welcome text messages anytime and rarely visit Facebook. (She didn’t know I was looking for an idea to post here.)
“My ducks are absolutely not in a row. At this point, I have no idea where my ducks even are.”
A little personal history comes to mind ... I trust ... sometime. Meanwhile, I find a varied history of the idiom by Tricia Reynolds, suggesting the most natural origin is an image of a mother duck leading her ducklings in a row behind her — organized and productive. That’s what I aspire to be (not a mother duck, of course).
