March 17, 2014

Spring is time to shed a few extra pounds...

How many can recall as a child the delicious sensation of stepping outside for the first time in months without a pair of clunky overshoes dragging you down?  For endless days of winter we were loathe to pull on those boots day after day, slogging to the bus stop.  It took an extra five minutes or more just to gear up when the school bell signaled the end of the school day.

Oh the freedom it meant and utter liberation from lugging along two clunky weights attached to your feet.

It also meant one less bag to tote:  the required shoe bag that carried my school footwear. And no more messy wet boots puddling the floor near the coat hooks in the school hallway.

Oh what joy!!  Yes that no-more-boot day could not come soon enough for me.

Times haven't changed all that much. Now days I still relish that feeling as boots are shed and traded for regular shoes.  Stepping out safely, once again I find my usual long stride and quick gait.  Such a feeling of freedom!!  For months, or more like forever it seems, steps have been tentative and clipped and the pathway treacherous with an icy, slippery coating on every surface.  What joy to feel the solid surface below my feet. 

 

In winters such as we have experienced this year, we all develop that odd walk:  step, step, step, baby-like as we maneuver the slippery surface, arms outstretched to provide balance much like a trapeze artist does.  One just never knows when the ground  will betray your feet and traction is gone with the wind and you find yourself floundering much like a cartoon character does in agonizing minutes before either doing a quick step dance or losing complete control and hitting the ground.

Yes it's truly liberating.....but I'm not ready to stow the boots in the closet or hang up my stocking cap.  You just never know when ol' Mother Nature will throw another chink in the armor of perceived safety. 

It's March after all.  What do you expect?

March 3, 2014

Words are a feast for the tongue.

Have you ever stopped to think about the words that abound in the English language.  It's a veritable feast for the senses and endless, challenging entertainment.  Truth of the matter, most of the words we have were derived from many other tongues. We've borrowed so many words that it is difficult to determine just which ones are genuinely ours.

I thought about that the other day after a nice discussion with local spelling aficionado Alyssa Boynton, whose vocabulary most certainly far exceeds many of ours indeed. Just ask her and she'll tell you about word roots, origins, and other wordly trivia. And she knows her way around a dictionary, that's for sure.

Words have always been a big part of my life.  i love the way some of them feel deliciously sliding over the tongue and out of the mouth.  Others can be ugly and avoidable.  I prefer to stick with the words that are just enjoyable to think and to say.

Like "lugubrious".  Though its definition is rather gloomy, dismal and mournful, I think it's just wonderful to utter.  Or "eloquent".  It just feels good forming that word and spitting it out. Or "luscious".  It's like a veritable feast in my opinion.

Most frustrating to me is when I know what I want to say but cannot find the exactly perfect word to express my feelings. Lyricists, on the other hand, know just how to tug at our strings by fitting just the right words into their compositions.  I, on the other hand, am often tongue tied when it comes to my word selection.

I once made a list of my favorite words - the ones that feel so good to say.   I have since lost that list so I guess I'll have to start over.  But no worries as there is an endless supply of words to consider. All you have to do is crack open a dictionary and start browsing. (Hint - the good old thesaurus always comes in handy when you are at a loss for words).  

So next time you feel the need to describe something, why not try challenging yourself and popping in a few lesser known words.  You may even reach a euphoric state of being with your choices.  You never can tell!