There's not much better...

I have always loved words. Even when I was young, I reveled in the fact
that I had an extensive vocabulary. I loved to read, I loved the way
words looked on paper, I loved to find out what words meant, and I loved
to play word games like Scrabble. It is probably no surprise
then that I ended up a writer. Don't get me wrong, there are a few things better then words like hugs and kisses. Okay, maybe chocolate also tops the list of extraordinary items; but I swear that's it.






What I find most
extraordinary, however, is the fact that my seven year old daughter seems to have
naturally inherited the same love of words as me. She was begging me to teach
her to read at the age of three; and from the time she was old enough
to hold a pencil, she has loved to write words in notebooks. Any and all
words she knows how to spell get written down in tidy columns, and if
she doesn't know how to spell them she asks. If I make a shopping list,
she too wants to make one. If I am working on a story, she wants too 
wants to write one.

Word games seem to amuse her as well. For
instance, one morning last spring on our ride to school, I played a
word game with her. I told her, "If you could only use three words to
describe a person, what would they be?" Then I proceeded to ask her to
describe individual friends and family members. Some people's names
evoked immediate responses while others caused her to think for a few
seconds, but after each she continued to requested another name.

When I asked
her what three words she would use to describe her daddy, she came back
with loving, nice, and willing. Now I don't know about you, but I
seriously doubt that "willing" would come to my mind when describing
friends and family. So, I asked her what she meant when she said she
thought of my husband as willing.

"Well," she said. "When daddy plays puppies with me, I don't think he really likes it; but he is willing."














Then this summer, between the cooking lessons and the day trips, she has requested that we play boggle. Not only does she ask to play, but she negotiates to see how many games I will play with her. On average we agree on five games per night. Her goal in life, at least at this time, is to have more more words on her list them me. Sometimes I give her a five word head start sort of like a golf  handicap which she always readily accepts without hesitation!



This
child is a constant amazement and joy to me. If I hadn't already been
totally and irrevocably in love with her, her personal love of words
would definitely have tipped the scales. Which brings me to the
question, "How do you feel about words?" Really, I would love to know.Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
http://www.booksbyamanda.com