{"id":18343,"date":"2020-09-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasee.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=essay&p=18343"},"modified":"2024-03-26T15:08:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T19:08:39","slug":"bird-is-the-word","status":"publish","type":"essay","link":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/essay\/bird-is-the-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird is the Word"},"content":{"rendered":"

My husband made it clear early on that he would rather build a bridge to jump off than participate in my quotidian inquisition.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

My favorite morning ritual is reading the Word of the Day posts on my computer while enjoying a cup of coffee. Actually, \u201cword\u201d of the day is misleading. I can\u2019t stop at one; like potato chips and chocolate chip cookies, it leads to just one more word, and then, another and another. Before having this information at the tap of a key, I used to open the dictionary at random places, do the silly circular motion with my finger in the air, and dive-bomb the page to randomly select a word. It would be defined, used in a sentence, and then, worked into conversation before the day\u2019s end. Two words squeezed into dinner conversation was a major coup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho does this for fun?\u201d my daughter demanded when I asked her if she thought a philtrum would ever require a Botox treatment. She refused to answer on the grounds that I was annoying. I\u2019m convinced she didn\u2019t know that a philtrum is the little indentation between the lip and the nose and she hates that she didn\u2019t know. I must admit, I am annoying. I\u2019ve been doing this to her all her life and she has always refused to engage. She would not become a logophile like her mother; however, her major in college was communications so I think she was listening somewhere along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cgame\u201d started when my son (my eldest child) was a toddler. From the beginning, I wedged alphabet cards behind light switch plates and across the length of his crib. We repeated the letters\u2019 sounds when we turned the light on and off. We repeated the process when he went to bed and when he woke up. We graduated to short words, and then, odd or funny words when he was older. I\u2019m sure he never attributed any part of his excellent verbal score on his high school SATs with his mother\u2019s word obsession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, my addiction to words began many years earlier when I took my own college entrance exams. I was sure I would ace the verbal portion of the test. Instead, I found myself looking at words I didn\u2019t know\u2013some I had never heard of. Mortified, I scribbled the words on my arm in ink so I could look up their meanings when I got home. I\u2019ve never forgotten those words although I have never used them in everyday speech. But, I know them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that my son is all grown up, he has his own game. He has corrected me a time (or two) when I\u2019ve used a word incorrectly or fumbled a pronunciation. I didn\u2019t find it amusing, especially when a visit to Google proved him right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband made it clear early on that he would rather build a bridge to jump off than participate in my quotidian inquisition. His resistance was subtle. A combination of selective hearing and feigning sleep was very effective. He\u2019s had years of avoidance experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friends are more accommodating of my quirk than my family. In fact an old friend and I have started our own weekly quiz on Facebook. She doesn\u2019t know I\u2019m holding back. I could throw words at her at a rapid fire pace (I\u2019m proud of my restraint), and I check my phone often to see if she has sent me a challenge in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the onset of the pandemic, I piled all the game boxes and my stash of \u201cto read\u201d books on the dining room table to keep us busy. I placed Boggle, Balderdash and Scrabble, my favorite word games, on top. But, somehow, Battleship, Jenga or Clue remains our nightly entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve become resigned to finding and re-reading beautifully written sentences in the books that are quickly dwindling to a short stack. Once, I emailed an author to inform her of a mistake in her character\u2019s dialogue. She thanked me for reading her book and told me I was the five hundredth person to inform her of the error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, my husband and I made plans for a socially distanced visit with my son and his family. We were so excited. It seemed like it had been years (instead of months) that we\u2019d seen our granddaughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We arrived a little early and greeted our son and daughter-in-law working in the garden. I went in search of the five-year-old red-head that I have missed so much. I found her on the back porch coloring in her coloring book. I watched her for a moment, taking in her legs that have grown long and slim. Her face, partially covered with spiraling copper curls, was losing the baby fat cheeks. I could see the stunning beauty she will become. She looked up with a start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey,\u201d I said, resisting the urge to hug her and cover her face with kisses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWant some company?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is company?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell,\u201d I began, \u201cit actually has several meanings. Do you want to hear this one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure,\u201d she said shrugging her shoulders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I picked up a crayon and started to doodle while I thought how to best convey the concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I defined the word as: being with someone for a period of time and it makes you happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used it in a sentence: \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have company when you\u2019re feeling lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re my company today?\u201d Addie asked. (Conversation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am yours, and you are mine,\u201d I replied as we colored, together, in sweet understanding.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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