As you know, I’m a Boomer-aged chicka. Don’t even ask me my age. I’m living free and easy, retired from a fabulous career and feeling great.
Most days.
But more and more, I’m plagued by age-related issues. There is an aphorism I used to think was silly: “Old age isn’t for sissies. Or wimps.”
That is, until the ravages jumped me, climbed aboard without invitation, and began to wreak havoc with my plans, I felt youthful, ageless – a babe.
As you also may recall, I’m also a word nerd. A proud Word Nerd. So despite the knees that have threatened to ‘go out’ for many years – and the back that already did – when word finding issues began to obscure my instant cleverness, I felt the taint of age. Holy Crap! This was cluttering my style, the agility of mind that I’ve always prized.
I used to help language learning disabled youth in my private practice as an SLP. I know all about what to do and can list them with the mnemonic I gave the kids, on the five fingers of my hand. The best strategy, btw, is knowing the first letter/first sound. It’s an alphabet-based system that accrues from being a reader. It also helped to have been an accomplished speller. It had been my reliable, instant strategy for years.
No more, alas and alack. I now experience episodes of what I call ‘white board’, empty until a few beats go by. My trust has been betrayed.
Here’s another speech-language difficulty that many display: metathesis. Fortunately, not I. I share it because the word’s rhythmic nature appeals to me – and because of its anagram.
metathesis
PRONUNCIATION:
(muh-TATH-uh-sis)
MEANING:
noun:
1. The transposition of letters, sounds, or syllables in a word. Example: aks for ask.
2. In chemistry, double decomposition.
ANAGRAM:
metathesis = It’s the same.
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