Five-minute free writes, Day 31 - "Enjoy"

So today is the final day of the month-long program of free writes - "enjoy" is the last word on the prompt list.  I'm thinking this is no accident.  I'm betting that most of the folks participating will talk about how much they enjoy writing.

Truly, this has been a great experience for me.  It really gets me back to the regular rhythm of writing; I feel guilty if I miss a day (and I had one day where I had to post three different pieces - it drove me to distraction).

I do enjoy writing.  This kind of thing is a little too contemplating-the-navel for me - I'm not sure anyone really cares how I feel about little things (or even big things).  But it's been fun to try to come up with maybe an unexpected take on a word.  And frankly, the words haven't been very challenging.

SO - I think I will continue.  But for my writing prompts, I'm going to get down that big old-fashioned dictionary that I still have and just let it fall open to any old page, and I'm going to write about the first word that catches my eye.  I'm still limit the piece to five minutes.  I like having to get it down and get it published and not worry about editing.  Totally out of my comfort zone.

Enjoy!

Five-minute free writes, Day 30 - "Memory"

In the lifelong learning program that I love, I have tried at least three times to participate in language classes - once in traveler's French, once in traveler's Italian, and once in beginning Spanish.  Since I had both French and Italian in college, and I had spent some time in Italy long, long ago , I found that the rules of pronunciation came back to me pretty quickly, and so did some of the vocabulary.

But the Spanish - oh, no.  I could not remember a vocabulary word from the beginning of the class until the end. Granted, the class lasted two hours, with a tiny bit of socializing right in the middle over the break - but still. Not one bit of memory was available.

I thought this was odd until I researched this phenomenon a bit and discovered that, sure enough, learning a new language at an old age is pretty tough. Seems as though some of those imprinting mechanisms just aren't working much any longer.

Even more fascinating was the interference that my youthful French and Italian ran all through the Spanish class.  Those tongue muscles just did not want to unlearn what they had been taught.  Thank goodness that "si" is the same in at least two of those languages!

And of course there are other opportunities to mourn the deterioration of memory.  Trying to remember how to play the piano ....

Five-minute free writes, Day 29 - "Practice"

I'm taking a class with my lifelong learning group - Piano 2.  I took Piano 1 last spring, six weeks of basically learning what the notes are, how to hold my hands, refreshing my knowledge of rhythm and beat, etc. We hardly got past the C chord - not even close to the black keys.

So now I'm doing Piano 2.  This class picked up right where the last one left off, and like any kind of skill, the lessons become more complicated and in need of more brain power.  PLUS - a secret ingredient: practice.

I purchased a little electronic keyboard and I always have great intentions. I don't like the touch - it's nowhere near what a real piano feels like. There are no pedals, which is a little disconcerting.  But it's there, it's in a back room where I can practice undisturbed, and it's actually fun.  There's just one problem, which is pretty much what I encounter daily: I have to carve out the time.

So why practice?  In our group, we learn for the joy of it, and there's no homework and certainly no grades.  In the class, we are mostly plugged into headphones, so the teacher cannot tell when we are making mistakes.  And unlike Mrs. Bewley, my piano teacher from about 60 years ago, the current teacher is full of encouragement and never scolds.

So why practice?  I never did for those lessons 60 years ago.  But this time around, I want it to stick.  I want to remember how to read music.  I want to be able to play a little. And I have to admit, it's even kind of fun.  I wish Mrs. Bewley were still alive; I would love to tell her what I'm doing.

Five-minute free writes, Day 28 - "Test"

This word, "test," brought me up a bit short today. It occurred to me that it's been a long, long time since I have had to take an actual test, with the expectation of a grade and some sort of credit for passing that had some sort of value to me.

I'm trying to remember.  It was probably my last graduate course, way back in the early 1970s (yes, the last century).

I've taken a number of trainings since then, but as the point of training is to learn how to do something specific, there aren't really any tests.  One just works through the online stuff at one's own pace, gets to the end, hits SUBMIT, and Bob's your uncle.  Then, with a brave face and a quaking heart, one ventures forth to offer whatever it is to the world.

This is not like taking a test.  I'm not sure exactly how I would even approach an actual test with an actual grade in the offing. I'm pretty sure I would be okay with studying beforehand, but my mind isn't as nimble as it once was.  Could I finish in the allotted time? Would I waste time evaluating exactly how stupid the questions were? Would I be correcting the grammar in the multiple choice items? Probably.

Now that I think about it, it might be fun.  After all, what kind of test would have any power over me at this point anyway?  I'm all about that grammar correction. So bring it.

Five-minute free writes, Day 27 - "Better"

"Better" is an interesting word because of its position in a cascade of descriptors.  In other words, it sits squarely between "good" and "best."

I wonder when "good" became an adjective that almost means "bad"? It's a lowly little adjective, content to muddle along in its day-to-day business, conscientiously doing its job and expecting little. I'm thinking about the ways we value achievement.  When did we stop praising "good"?

We say to our toddlers when they correctly identify a color or a number, "good job!"  And it is a good job; the concepts of colors and numbers must explode in the tiny brains of almost-two-year-olds like the Theory of Relativity. We don't say, "But can you do better?  Don't you want to be the best?"

No, that becomes part of life when report cards enter the picture.  Or when youth sports takes over the family's life. Or when the choice of college becomes a life-or-death issue.

I wish we could relax. I want someone to tell me I did a good job, and I promise to be content with that.