💚 2021
March FROM MY PERSPECTIVE 💚
Well, here it is March…..month number 3; Spring’s tempest;
wild hares chase each other; my birthday month; named after
Mars in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars; the second of seven months to
have a length of 31 days; in the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological
beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March; and according to the old
saying---it comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Well, that remains to be seen.
There
are 171,146 words in the English language.
According to the Oxford English dictionary the first word is “A” and the
last word is “Zyzzyva” (pronounced: “zih-zih-vah”) and meaning: a genus of
tropical weevils (family Curculionidae) native to South America and typically found
on or near palm trees.
When
I became a mother I discovered strengths I didn’t know I had and fears I didn’t
know could exist. I didn’t know I could
love a being more than I loved myself, or anything else, for that matter. I didn’t know I would have to hold down
something so precious I helped create so its body could be violated by needles
or looked into where it was dark. I had
to soothe the screams and cries stifling my screams of, “Stop it; you’re
hurting my precious one” as my tears were burning my eyes and my throat hurt
holding back my screams. I never
got gloriously happy over a simple grin or a good grade on a test in a subject
that was so tough, or an “I did it, Mom!” I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep, or listened to a child breathe right in front of me or
on the phone miles away---
”What are you doing, Mom?” he asked. “Listening to you breathe, Honey, just
like I did when you were here,” I choked.
“Oh, Mom, you’re so silly. The Navy is really cool. I get to do all sorts of things I hadn’t
planned to do!” he proudly said. “I’m
sure you do, and you look so handsome in blue and white,” I said thinking, “And
I know you didn’t plan on me missing you more than heart beats, either.” “Mom, college is so wonderful. I’m so thrilled to be here,” she said. “I’m glad you are loving it, Sweetie; you’ll
do very well,” I replied thinking, “If I told you how much I missed you….I
can’t do that, it would ruin your independence.
Someday you’ll know.” Before I
was a Mom, I never slept on sheets 12 days old because I didn’t want his/her
odor to be washed away after they went away to college or the Navy. Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping
baby just because I didn't want to put it down or held on to a hug after it was
time to let go. I never felt my heart
break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt or
disappointment. I never knew that
something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so
much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart
outside my body. I didn't know how
special it could feel to feed a hungry baby or a “starved” teenager. I didn't know that bond between a mother and
her child. Being a mother is never over,
even when we pass on, because our spirit will be with our children, and our
title reigns to eternity.
Chief Dan George from the Salish Tribe of British Columbia
said, “If the very old will remember, the very young will listen.” Isn’t it
amazing how the young can teach the old, though? With all the experience I have had teaching
young people, they still continue to amaze me.
Here are some examples. Each of
them has happened. Get your child the
color of dog they want. Otherwise,
they’ll paint the one you got for them that color. “Filling the gas tank” does NOT mean putting
rocks and sticks in it. Do not take for
granted your son will walk AROUND the mud puddle, when there is no time to
spare for a change, on the way to a wedding.
Hide ALL permanent markers
from a 5 year old just learning to write their name. They’ll lay claim to everything they see by
proudly writing their name on it, including the freshly painted kitchen door. Do not take your exuberant child shopping
right after they have been given 2 Twinkies and 8 ounces of red Kool-aid by the
“helpful” neighbor. Make sure you are
exact when telling your son to feed the dog the food for him (dog) which is in
the refrigerator. You’ll lose the
intended left-overs for supper to the delighted dog. Make sure there is no SILLY STRING hidden by
your children in the van when going on a long trip using only the interstate;
that also goes for whoopee cushions and balloons. Do not get an 80 pound greyhound and let your
60 pound son walk the dog in the country.
Do not assume the children will NOT misbehave when you are attending a
meeting on “Discipline Without Spanking.”
Please know that a boy’s size 4 feet WILL fit into Grandpa’s size 14
shoes. The boy says so, and Grandpa
believes him. Make sure your child has
dark drapes and blinds at their bedroom window in the spring and summer
months. Otherwise, at the first sign of
daylight, they will announce, “It’s morning time!!” Do not throw away unusable hand-held hair
dryers where an adventurous 15 year old boy, wearing his uncle’s state police
uniform to see if it fits, yet, can find it.
They will go to the end of the drive-way, point it at cars causing them
to learn all sorts of profane words and creating havoc with the drivers. Make sure you have a supply of dish WASHER
liquid detergent when you ask your teen son to load and turn on the
dishwasher. Dish WASHING liquid is NOT
the same thing and it will take 2 hours to relieve the dishwasher of the suds. Lay towels down in front of the machine or
there will be a whole new definition to the song SLIP SLIDING AWAY. According to a young lad, he has “314 brain
cells and every one of them are working.”
Hmmm, I know some adults with more, and they can’t say that. I realize some of you are passed the small
children stage, but grandchildren and great-grandchildren do this, too. It is their job. We are not safe by a long shot!
Most of my readers know I enjoy words, especially unusual
ones. The word QUEUE comes to mind. It is
pronounced “Q”; it means “in a strait line, one following another”. Why it has to have 4 unpronounced letters
with one following the other I don’t understand. The word CWM
(yes it is a word), pronounced “koom” meaning “a steep-sided hollow at the head
of a valley or on a mountainside; a cirque” is another one I have trouble
with. It has no vowels, not even a “y”
and the only letter pronounced as it usually is, is C; which leads to another
quirk of that word. “C” has no sound of
its own. It takes the sound of a “K” or
“S” with the “S” sound made when the “C” is followed by a vowel, and the sound
of “K” when followed by a consonant. Now, about the word “XYST”. O.K., I won’t go
there. Yeesh!
“I’m so glad you came over to set a spell and chat,” cooed Aint Daisy, “I know you’re busy.” I smiled and told her I had time, besides it’s always refreshing to chat with her and listen as she shares her wisdom. “Not many folks seem to have time to set a bit and chat. They think a phone call will take care of a personal visit. Phone calls are nice, but seeing the person and feeling their presence is so much better. You see, chile, words in the ear linger for a spell, but the sight of the person is remembered in the heart and mind a lot longer.”
While messaging my daughter on Facebook, I sent, what I
though was, one emoji of 🎜🎝🎜.
It turned out I punched the send key about 4 times. She sent me a question mark. I casually replied, “It’s a song. I don’t know which one, but it’s a
song.” She replied with, “LOL”. I think if I still taught English
composition, I’d have one assignment of writing a composition using emojis
where applicable. I’m sure it would be
fun and interesting.
My friend, Carole (same age as I am), had an appointment to
get her car looked at. She was in a bit
of a hurry and didn’t have time to get all spruced-up. A friend took her to the dealership to drop
off the car and then they went for a ride.
Carole mentioned how nice the young men were to her, especially if you
look really decrepit. Then she added,
“But we’re not acting.”
I text, but so many times I have to retype something because
either auto-correct gets involved or I’ve struck the wrong key (usually the one
beside the one intended). I don’t like
retyping unless it’s to someone I don’t really like. Then, I just leave it and let them guess. Then I laugh.
Well, I was texting to Carole and hit the wrong letters while telling
her the above. I retyped the word three
times in a row. The last word was
“laugh”, but was typed “lsugh”. I
retyped it. She fired back, “You’re
laughing, aren’t you?” ‘Made me laugh
harder. I just love her.
