Leaving a mark

Went to the cemetery with my mother to fix an arrangement on my Dad's grave.  Close by was a lady putting flowers on the grave of a son who died many years ago, but far too young.  It would have been his birthday.   She was accompanied and assisted by a granddaughter.  This granddaughter was a little embarrassed by her just-washed hair and lack of makeup because she was once one of my students.

We visited a while, and she told me I was her favorite teacher. Not only was that incredibly sweet of her to say, but it really makes me think.  How many small things do we do that leave impressions--good and bad--on others?  She was in my class at least 25 years ago, and in my memory she was a gentle, obedient, good-natured girl.  What did I do to deserve that place in her memory?

It reminds me to be conscious of the daily, seemingly small interactions we have with others.  How are those remembered?  I'm sure sometimes we fade into vague recollections, and I often speak without enough thinking.  That kind young woman reminded me that if I leave a mark as I pass by, I'd like it to be a good grade.

I'm with you, Dennis!

So grateful to be getting older!

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today so I'm taking a detour from my usual posts--few as there have been recently.

Thirty years ago yesterday, I was in congestive heart failure, more ill than I was willing to admit even to myself.  My mitral valve was so stenotic that the left atrium of my heart was enlarged and there was extreme pressure in the pulmonary veins coming from my lungs.  I could not walk a flight of stairs without stopping to rest and even though I had been teaching until a couple of days earlier, I had found myself resting against the walls as I worked with my students.  It wasn't until I looked back that I realized how close I had been to death.

I am so grateful I live in the time I do, because a talented team of people led by a gifted surgeon gave me another chance.  This is like my second birthday and I can't help but celebrate.  Thirty years ago my husband could have been left alone with a 5-year-old and a 14-year-old.  Now they are grown up, successful, and have given me six fabulous grandchildren.  Oh, what I would have missed!

In August there will be another celebration because I needed that surgeon and his team again ten years later.  That time, I knew the kind of trouble I was in.  But that is a story for another day.  Today I am remembering the gift from 30 years ago and feeling grateful for each and every day.

This comic reminded me of....me. It's nice to know the author of the comic strip has thought some of the same things I do.

Interesting language differences

Just got back from a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Had a lovely time and noticed some fun language differences.

There was a sign on the cruise ship's Promenade Deck asking people to walk or jog in an anti-clockwise direction, rather than counter-clockwise.

You don't call someone on the phone, you ring them up.

If you are a bit chilly, you need to put on your jumper (sweater).

You don't have to yield to traffic, but you may need to give way.

I did have a terrible time adapting to seeing vehicles driving on the "wrong" side of the road.  The idea that a left turn is easier than a right turn seems so odd to me.  I suppose that comes from more than 48 years of driving the American way.  I wondered which other countries do it the way New Zealand and Australia do:  the UK I suppose? Germany? Austria?  I know that some European countries drive the way we do, like Italy.  I think it would be pretty challenging to change back and forth.  Thank goodness I didn't have to do any driving.

Our crazy language

It's funny how language works.  Enough people say something that is grammatically incorrect, and eventually it becomes widely used and accepted.  Take, for instance, the past tense of sneak.  It should be sneaked (I sneaked an extra piece of cake), but people said snuck so much that it is in the dictionary now as an informal past tense.

I wonder why the past tense of peak (or peek) didn't become puck, or speak didn't turn into spuck.  Even sneeze could have been, "Yesterday I snuzz several times."

See, it doesn't really make sense why some words get changed and others don't,

While I'm writing about words, there are some expressions that have become so common that they are beginning to annoy me.  There is nothing really grammatically wrong, but they are used so much that it seems no one is willing to stretch verbal skills far enough to think of another way to say what they want to say.  Listen to how many times you hear (particularly on television) someone avoid answering a question because "it's complicated."  How often do designers of decor or fashion like the way a color or accessory makes something "pop."  Everyone seems to want to take relationships, experiences, or activities "to the next level."  If I notice others, I'll come back and add them.

Meanwhile, since I snuck an extra candy I'll try to take my exercise to the next level.  Afterwards I'll wear my red scarf so my outfit will have that pop of color.  I'd explain more, but it's complicated.

Oh commercials!

Commercial hyperbole is bugging me again.

 If you get a new pair of glasses from VisionWorks (used to be America's Best),  you not only get the glasses but a better you.  That's pretty impressive.  I've known a person or two who could really use a new pair of glasses from there.  Hey, if I get some glasses there, can I get rid of 20 pounds?  That would make me better.

Even more interesting is the United States Postal Service's commercial that states that there is nothing worse than going to the Post Office and standing in line.  Goodness, if that is the most terrible thing that can happen, have we all been making too big a fuss over serious illnesses, accidents, and deaths?  Are all our realities seriously whacked?  I've actually done that standing in line thing many times; it's a wonder I've survived.

I'll add others as they bug me.  Of course I realize that the commercials are not meant to be taken literally, but the exaggerated language annoys me.  That's why I love my DVRs.

I've also seen some cute license plates lately so maybe I'll have to post about those again.  There are some clever folks out there.