About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Monday, October 10, 2011

M is for MIRTH

It's raining today and I can see the trees across the street are turning colour. Soon the leaves will fall, the skies will be grey daily, and the wind will whistle through the empty branches. As I pondered what emotion to write about this week, my mind took me back to the summer when, on hot days, my grandchildren loved to go to the local water park, the beach, or even my backyard to run through the sprinkler. This brought me to the word MIRTH, meaning gaiety or amusement accompanied by laughter. What better feeling on which to meditate on a dull, rainy day in order to pull oneself out of the doldrums! Here is mirth:

MIRTH

Mirth is the red, orange, and yellow of sunshine.
It looks like foamy waves along the shoreline.
It sounds like children giggling at the seaside.
It smells like the salty vinegar of fish 'n chips.
It tastes like ice-cream with chocolate dips.
It feels like rib-tickling wrestling in the sand.
Mirth is music and merriment in a wonderland.

Thanks to Denise Nesbitt for her creativity in bringing ABC Wednesday to life several years ago. She and her merry band of misfits (moi included!) visit contributors each and every week to encourage, compliment, and rejoice in their efforts to entertain us all with their personal creativity. To join in or simply to savour the contribution of others, click here!

18 comments:

cheshire wife said...

I have come over from Trubes' blog.
I could have written that post while sitting here in north west England. The weather is exactly the same!

Powell River Books said...

We can all use a bit of mirth any time of year. - Margy

Roger Owen Green said...

i always see you as mirthful, even when you're a little melancholy.

Nanka said...

That was full of mirth and well done!! It was so enjoyable!! It made me go hmmmmm...and ended with yummmmm!! ;)

EG CameraGirl said...

Fun and full of mirth, Leslie!

Lisa said...

Mirth! What a Marvelous word for M-day! Absolutely love the shot you paired with it.

Scriptor Senex said...

A great poem for a lovely choice of word. Thank you.

Gigi Ann said...

Oh, the Memories of my young days of Mirth.

photowannabe said...

Leslie, you hit the nail right on the head with this one.
I could really feel, taste and smell Mirth. Never thought I could do that before.
The kids at the beach are just delightful.
Have a wonderful week.

Kay L. Davies said...

Your descriptions are marvelous, Leslie! I love the way you use colours to describe feelings.

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

Hildred said...

Wonderful words you use to describe mirth so perfectly, Leslie.

Gattina said...

We have rain too, but our trees are still green ! Very unusual !
Gattina
ABC Team

Meryl said...

You engaged ALL my senses with this one! Great post.

Jo said...

I once took a painting class where the teacher drew shapes to represent emotions, and we had to paint the shapes. And then she asked us to add one of our own emotions, and paint that. I painted a bunch of bubbles for "mirth". I got an A. :-)

You get an A+ for your poetry...!

Wanda said...

I'm totally ready for some "Mirth"~~~ Love the photo...couldn't be better!

Tumblewords: said...

Leave it to mirth to dislodge melancholy. Wonderful poem and photo!

Roy Schulze said...

Love the photo. Wish I was on the beach right now. My ABC Wednesday is Another Mouse.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Lovely poem. I particularly like the comparison of mirth to colours.