So, I find it quite hilarious that today, I decided to start “reading” the dictionary some and learned that the “word of the day” is:
Epistemic.
Now, probably, many of you are raising eyebrows, scratching heads, and wondering why am I trying to “read” the dictionary. It’s hard to explain, but I have felt quite limited over the last year as I’ve attempted to find my way back to maintaining a daily habit of writing. Aside from the obvious – the babies, introducing Ernesto to Kindergarten, and all the work that comes with being a mom – I have struggled to achieve balance and invest time into my passions. It has been difficult, but I have let go many of my other “responsibilities” and commitments outside of home in order to pave the way back to the garden of dreams I began to sow many years ago.
It is common knowledge that the more one reads, the larger the vocabulary one has. I was one that used to read several books a month. This habit was encouraged by Mom of course. Birthdays and Christmas always arrived with the gifting of new books. Kristi and I would exchange when we completed our own titles. Through my teen years, I had a gal pal who also shared the love of reading and so we would also trade books several times a year.
When I became a mother, finding time to read (for myself) became impossible. I really couldn’t afford to purchase books and I had lost public library privileges – while expecting, home was broken into and amongst the items taken included a box with several borrowed titles. The cost of the “lost” books added up to nearly $200. I just didn’t have the cash to pay for them.
I began to read off and on whenever Mom would visit, which was several times a year. She would always arrive with a new novel she had started on the plane ride. Usually, she would complete her read before returning home and therefore, she would leave me the book. I had so little time to enjoy new books, that just one or two would last me several months until Mom would arrive again. But then, a couple of years back, Mom began to borrow books from her local library instead of purchasing them. Now what?
Well, I usually have the blessing of visiting Mom & Kristi in Indiana several times a year. They just can’t get enough of my kids so we have been flown in once every three to six months. This has given me the opportunity to pick a book from one of Mom’s ten bookshelves and catch-up while on vacation. I am always allowed to take a book or two with me when flying back home, but I usually don’t. I always worry about taking one that Kris may have wanted to get to and hadn’t had the chance yet or something to that affect.
My other trump card is bilingualism. These days, I often speak more Spanish than English. Code Switching comes quite naturally; however, because I use both languages so frequently, I sometimes stumble when trying to express myself. This, added to the fact that I am a perfectionist, keeps me from advancing many times. I get frustrated with myself and some of my most anal habits. For instance, I spell pretty well. But if I have one little typo along the way…I can’t ignore that annoying, squiggly line shouting to me “you spelled it wrong, you dork!” I’ve got to pause and go to it and try to correct it on the spot. I hate relying on spell check, as I want to develop my skills as much as possible. So, usually, I will type (and re-type several times when necessary) until I get it right. Only as a last resort, I will use the spelling and grammar tools if I can’t figure it out. As a result…I often lose my train of thought.
This can often put my creativity on hold; don’t let me get started on my bouts with the thesaurus. Anyway, I decided I would “exercise” my vocabulary and do some random reading of the dictionary everyday (or maybe every other) in order to awaken those old circuits that haven’t been stimulated in so long.
Today’s word: epistemic.
epistemic • \ep-uh-STEE-mik\ • adjective: of or relating to knowledge or knowing: cognitive
Check out the Word of the Day at Merriam Webster’s online dictionary:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?04.05.2009″>epistemic</a>
