Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday. He was born March 2, 1904. When I was a child, we didn't read much Dr. Seuss (I don't remember being read to much at all, actually), but I remember looking forward to the television specials based on his books. The Cat in the Hat. The Lorax. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
MathMan, on the other hand, had a mother who read quite a lot to him and his siblings. It was a surprise to no one when she abandoned a life of keeping house and raising six kids, to return to school to become a teacher librarian.
It's from my mother-in-law's example and MathMan's memories of her that I decided to read as much as possible to our children when they were little. Dr. Seuss always featured prominently when they were really young.
There was a time when, in addition to Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon which I can still recite, I could recite One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and The Foot Book. Many a naptime was prolonged by one more reading of Hop on Pop or Green Eggs and Ham. To this day, I attribute some of the made up words and general word play that goes on around here to those long ago readings and rereadings of Seuss.
MathMan is the chief word inventor, but each of us have contributed to the family lexicon over the years. MathMan coined phrases and terms to cover up for his male discomfort with words dealing with the more feminine aspects of life. Pads and tampons became stickers and harpoons. I think he just hates the clinical sound of words like tampon. And, let's face it, pantyliner does sound silly. When I hear that word, I think of an airliner or oceanliner. With panties. Look, I never claimed to be mature.
Each child has added to the family's list of words, as well. When they were younger, they created their own words for things like Kleenex, blanket and various stuffed animals. As they've grown and been exposed to influence beyond the home, they've added color and some kind of style to the language heard around here, as well. Style is such a subjective thing....
I tend to take old standards and change them up. When I became completely out as a nonbeliever, I tried very hard to stop using the words god and jesus as oaths. That led me to swipe "oh for cliff's sake" from the Young Ones.
Lately, I've been thinking about language more. I
consider the meanings of specific words, the sounds, the way they might linger on your lips after you've said them, how they float into space, sometimes echoing or lilting or shattering the silence around you. Think of words whispered to a loved one or a 'hello?' echoing through an empty house when you check to see if you're alone. Angry words you spit out, only to wish you could snatch them back and stuff them into your pocket.I've been thinking about the power and beauty of words. I can't imagine my thirst for new words to ever be quenched. I watch MathMan try to explain to me - using words - the concepts of numbers, math, patterns and I'm fascinated. I love it that he uses the method of having his student write about what they're learning in math because, had a teacher asked me to put the concepts into words, perhaps I would have been a much better math student. Words I can process. Numbers are like another language to me. And if I don't even have the basics? I am lost.
I've noticed that certain words and phrases stick with me, whether I use them myself or not. Oh, I have my rotating list of favorites. Some of them come from books or songs. Others come from people I know, things said and written to me, movies I've watched. I might get snagged by a word on a blog post, someone's tweet or Facebook status. I haven't formally collected them in any way, but I think my magpie brain must have a little pouch where they're stored. It resides alongside that place that houses the snatches of songs that play over and over in my head.
Following are some phrases and words currently lurking in that pouch. I don't know that I'll ever use them, verbally or otherwise, but I like to say them to myself occasionally, even if the result is only to crack myself up. Yes, I realize that I'm not entirely well.
In no particular order:
conventional/unconventional
gormless...ghastly...dreadful.....
delightful...has lost the plot .....I ache for you.
...faith...compelling...spirit...tea....established...always...mocking
...fetching....syrup....paisley.......nose kisses....plant....mysterious
....Cat Dancing....avenue....like my ipod stuck on replay, replay......
pleasure...forget....passage...
Severed.
peppercorn rent....a white blank page and a burning rage...
in kind....fleeting....full.........I don't want to be friends
....slicing....announce...inscrutable....vacuousness...j'adore
....supplication....obsequious...calculate
...pants on the ground...irony...wine... polish...
....expunge......listen, see....apoplexy....with one foot in the grave....
home...sad and demented, but social...ablaze....configure...upbraid...
...critique....upend...assuage...encapsulate....
I could go on and on, but I have things to do. There's that job search to continue. There's more writing to be done. There's that damned elliptical making rude gestures at me. I'm still not finished reading that pile of books sitting next to my bed. Sophia just called. School is letting out early because of snow. I'm sure I'll be conscripted at some point to play cards. And Chloe is home for spring break and we've got plans to don our mom and daughter stripper outfits, grab our hairbrushes and sing some Lady Gaga to the unappreciative cats.
Words add to life, but they can't replace it. Time to go live some......
And you? Do you collect words and phrases?
Your favorites? Or what's plaguing you? Besides the song above, of course.....
