I've been going through stuff lately (!!!!!)...
Much of my stuff is going out in the trash, but one of the treasures I’ve come across is a little notebook that my grandmother filled with favorite poems, quotes, sayings and scripture in her beautiful script. Just look at that time worn notepad.
She and my great aunt loved poetry, and I remember hearing how, as young women, they took part in elocution events - poetry recitations to assembled listeners. I love this part of her lasting heritage – her love of beautiful words – and I’m wondering, “Is there a gene for that?” – a love of words? If so, I feel like I’ve got it!!
Maybe you feel the same way. Sometimes it’s just a phrase out of a book I’m reading, or a line from a song, but I LOVE BEAUTIFUL WORDS... or to put it another way, beautiful thoughts captured creatively with just the right words. Sometimes I hate to just leave them alone on the page and walk away. That’s one reason I also love calligraphy and hand lettering. Somehow lettering out these phrases and words seems to let me hold on to them, process them, and give them some of the respect I feel they deserve.
In 1928, my Grandmother wrote out this poem by A. C. Leavenworth (even Google doesn’t claim to know who this is – gasp!!) entitled, “If Love Were Always Laughter.” It’s a charmer and ends with these thoughts:
… But grief brings often laughter
And love, ah, love brings tears!
And both leave ever after
Their blessings on the years;
So I, dear heart would sue for you
A mingling of the two for you
That grief may lend its calm to you
And love may send its balm to you,
For grief brings often laughter
And love brings often tears.
So here's to life’s griefs and laughter, and here’s to the gene, (if there is one!!) that ties so many of us together in our love of beautiful thoughts and the words that convey them.
P.S. Interested in something that would regularly challenge and inspire you in your love of words? Stay tuned. Something fun is coming….
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