WHAT'S PASSED IS PAST

Lately I've been having a duel over the past versus passed duo. These two words sound the same and when my writing brain is chugging along, it sometimes forgets which of these different-meaning words is appropriate.

According to Dictionary.com, passed refers to what something has done, such as having passed a slow-moving car in the left lane driving down the interstate or having passed an academic test. In contrast, past, according to Dictionary.com, is an intangible thing or adjective. As in forget the past. However, it can get complicated. When used as a preposition when talking about physically going by or beyond something, past is appropriate, as in I was looking for the library but I drove right past.

To determine whether passed or past is appropriate, evaluate your sentence critically and determine what exactly you wanted to say. If it is something the subject of your sentence did already regarding the verb pass, use passed. If it is not referring to something your subject did, use past. In the final example in the preceding paragraph, drove is the verb and past describes the driving or could be thought of as a thing; it was past, this is here.

Do you have any other tips or tricks for easily deciding if passed or past is correct? If so, please share in the comments below.

Happy passing!
The Wordsy Woman

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG!

Today (well, tomorrow to be exact) marks the one year birthday of the Wordsy Woman blog.

Maintaining a blog is an interesting endeavor. For several months, I was sure not a soul was reading it. But then the views started to creep up beyond what I thought would result from people accidentally clicking on the URL in their favorite search engines.Getting views and a few comments definitely motivated me to keep it going week after week, which can be difficult. Fortunately, there's a nearly infinite possibility of things one can say about words and that makes it much easier.

Created on Doodle Buddy for iPad

Not terribly surprising is which of my posts have been most popular: the Comma Sutra posts. Comma Sutra -Position Two is in the number one spot, followed by Position One and Position Four. My post on how I write Social Media and My New Published Words (posted one year ago tomorrow) round out the top five. Comma Sutra - Position Three comes in at sixth place.

Where my blog viewers come from never stops to amaze me either. Most of the viewers come from the United States; the rest hail from Russia, Germany, Romania, France, China, United Kingdom, Ukraine, India, and Mexico. And I don't even have family in any of those countries - so that is awesome! I did have an old friend who lived in India, but I don't know if he's still there...

For me, keeping a weekly blog up for an entire year without breaks is a great accomplishment. So I plan to celebrate. And I'm not done yet; I'm looking forward to celebrating the Wordsy Woman Blog on its second and third birthdays all the way into old age.

To the Wordsy Woman Blog! Happy Birthday.

SUMMER WORDS

August sunset on a farm in Northwest Iowa

Tuesday was my kids' last day of school and now I anticipate all of those words and phrases they will inevitably utter over this summer.

The big one will be Can I? Can I go swimming, go to my friend's house, drink this soda, go to the movies, go miniature golfing, go ice skating, go here or go there. And then the phrase that will follow will be Can you drive me there? And we can't forget Can I have money to pay for it? Because I work at home, I have to be disciplined. I like them to get out and do things and I enjoy an occasional swim or movie myself; however, if I'm not careful, I'll end up spending the summer driving all over town instead of getting my work done.

Of course, the Can I is usually preceded at some point by an I'm bored. My son tried unsuccessfully to get me to let him skip the last day of school because they wouldn't be doing anything, anyway. I refused. My reasoning? If I agreed, the I'm bored would hit much quicker. My suggestions in response to this phrase are always Clean your room or Read a book. Not appetizing to them.

Another classic summer phrase, I'm hot. Can't we turn on the air conditioner? I'm not going to be uncomfortable in my house either, but they usually start asking for the AC when the thermometer outside climbs to just 75°F. I generally need it to be at least the upper 70s in the house before I'll turn it on.

Ah, yes, summer, a time for words you almost exclusively hear in June, July, and August. What are some classic things your kids say over summer break? Share them in the comments section below.

Happy Summer Vacation!
-The Wordsy Woman

FINDING THE WORDS

My relative was recently involved in a motor vehicle crash that left her unconscious and broken. We eventually learned she had head injuries, numerous broken bones, and a collapsed lung. She had to be on a ventilator for almost ten days. I went to visit her this past Sunday after she'd made a dramatic turnaround; she was off the ventilator, sitting up, and talking.

After talking with her about the experience, I got to thinking about how finding our words and communicating are the first things human beings struggle to do. Think about babies; the first thing they do of their own volition is smile when someone talks to them, an attempt to communicate via the only means they know how to use. The next thing they do when someone talks to them is make noises and try to imitate to form words. They understand what people say to them long before they can form the words themselves. They get frustrated when they can't find the correct ones.

As my relative was slowly emerging from her medically induced coma to help with the swelling on her brain, the first thing she tried to do was communicate. The desire was so strong that her daughter created a letter board she could use to spell words when she still had the tube down her throat and couldn't speak. On Sunday, I could tell that her ability to speak, even though it took great concentration and effort to do so, had lifted her spirits and given her hope for her full recovery.

It also amazes me how much other people's words can impact us. Before my relative woke up and her close family members could explain to her what happened, she had no idea why she was in the hospital. One of the first people she remembered visiting her was her eighty-two year old father who drove approximately an hour to get to the hospital where she was admitted, something she knew he wouldn't do without a good reason. She'd had a tooth extraction scheduled so when she saw her father, she said she first thought something went wrong with the extraction. But she ran her tongue over her teeth and they were still there. She knew something had to be seriously wrong for her father to drive all that way to the hospital to see her and talk to her. I don't know what he said to her, but it seems like an uncanny coincidence that right after that visit, immediately after receiving that communication from her father, she began to turn around for the better, getting off the ventilator the next day, getting out of ICU the day after that, and talking about being discharged to a rehab facility just three days after that.

Words. Always amazes me what they can do and how important they are. Just 26 little letters...

Here's to your health and always being able to find your words!

-The Wordsy Woman

DREAM WORDS

Do you ever have writing dreams? I do. I often have dreams that I'm writing a brilliant, eloquent poem, story, novel, or article. I keep a small notebook and a pen next to my bed, but it's mostly blank. I believe in capturing inspiration when it comes to me and whole-heartily agree with people who suggest planting writing materials by our beds so we can capture those writing bits that come when we are trying to fall asleep or that come out of our dreams.

My problem is actually doing it. Once in awhile, I will think about something as I'm falling asleep and actually be awake enough to get up and write about it. More often than not, however, I am too close to sleep and too lazy to drag myself out of bed. Plus, I'm always afraid I'll wake up my husband and he'll think I'm crazy when I tell him I sneaked off to write something down. Which is crazy in itself because he knows I'm a writer and he sleeps like a log. But in those dark hours, I don't think straight.

With regard to dreaming I'm writing something brilliant, one of two things happen. I either wake up and remember I'd dreamed I'd written something exquisite, insightful, and perfect but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. Or I go to write down what I dreamed I was writing down and it is anything but brilliant or eloquent; it sucks. It leaves me wondering if what I'd written in my dream really wasn't all that great or if I'm just not remembering it accurately. I choose to believe the former because then the writing I've lost is insignificant anyway.

Happy Dreaming!
-The Wordsy Woman

A RERUN IN HONOR OF MOTHER'S DAY

Here is a post I wrote late last year about those timeless pieces of advice we receive from our mothers. I hope you enjoy it and have a happy Mother's Day tomorrow!!!

“Be careful.” These are the words I’ve heard every time my mother and I have separated every since I can remember. It’s good advice. Short. To the point. Broad and easy to remember. And it works for everything. Driving a car, dating, swimming, having children, taking a bath. 

Recently, I took a shopping trip with my mom, my daughter, and my daughter’s friend. My mom and I were talking about the trip I’m planning to take with my daughter’s choir in the spring to New York City. She wisely advised me to take plenty of underwear because at that time of year, you never know when a nor-easter blizzard will pop up and you will be stuck. Also, you can wear your clothes more than once but you want to change your underwear.

Don’t get me wrong, this is very, very good advice. However, since I’m knocking on the door of that last birthday before forty, I thought it was kind of funny. 

My mom has had great advice for me on many occasions. My all time favorite has to be her advice to make sure my skirt was not stuck in my underwear (or something like that) when I was on my way to accept a financial scholarship for college during the end of my senior year of high school. To others, it may seem like odd advice, but to me who had actually had my skirt stuck in my underwear after using the restroom on a homecoming date and was lucky enough to have my mother see this and rescue me, there could not have been better words for the occasion.

So now I am the mother of a fourteen and a half year old daughter who responds with a dramatic eye roll just about every time I pass on my sage, motherly words of advice. I don’t recall if I rolled my eyes at my mom when I was a teenager – I’m sure I did, though, even if I wasn’t bold enough to do it “out loud” and just in my head. Anyway, I think my daughter would be well advised to not bother with the eye roll because when she’s knocking on forty, I’m sure I’ll still be passing my words on to her.

Thanks, mom, for all of the great words of advice.

-The Wordsy Woman

SOMETIMES WORDS JUST AIN'T ENOUGH

Words can do a lot of things. They can comfort, infuriate, convince, inspire, entertain, or inform, among others. Some people think words can protect them. Sometimes they can, but not always.

Last Sunday I took my niece to a park and discovered this sign next to a high metal curvy slide. It said, "Slide was not designed for elementary aged children or younger." WHAT? First, I know for a fact that is an outright lie. That slide has been there in that park since I was a little girl, a good thirty years ago. At the time, it was at the pinnacle of advanced playground equipment technology, before they worried about such things as safety - back before they installed rubber floors and you took your chances on the concrete. Therefore, I know for a fact when it was "designed," it was designed for elementary and younger aged children.

Second, who do they expect to use this slide? Apparently middle schoolers, high schoolers, college students, and adults. Other than older kids screwing around or adults showing their kids how it's done, I almost never see anyone older than eleven sliding down a slide. As you can see from the photo, nobody else believed it either.

Finally, I know the real purpose behind the sign. I'd be willing to bet a significant sum that its entire intention is to try to insulate the city from a lawsuit should a child in elementary school or younger fall off this steeply-staired rickety apparatus. In my non-lawyer opinion, I don't think it would do the trick. It is a slide, in a park, at a playground, with swings and play equipment that ARE intended for small children. I cannot picture a few words on a sign keeping a jury from concluding anything differently about this particular slide. If it's that dangerous, it shouldn't be there. Otherwise, perhaps some signs stating the entire playground is for use at-your-own-risk and the city won't be responsible for injuries suffered anywhere in the park would be at least a better potential tactic.

I thought the sign was quite amusing, but it also demonstrates how words are good for SO many things, but they only go so far.

Happy Sliding!
-the Wordsy Woman.