Just a short post about words. If you want to write, you need them. If you want to speak, you need them. I recently ran the Alpha and Omega gauntlet. Someone part of my extended family died, and that weekend a baby was born. Just the circle of life demonstrated in my small corner of the world. Why is it so hard for people to come up with right words?

I can see in the birth of a child being a momentous occasion. I was in a group text, and everybody that participated said the same exact things, ‘she’s so beautiful/precious/cute’ you must be so “happy/proud/elated.” I happened to actually read the announcement and I commented on her middle name. It’s not common and everyone knows who they honored. Why was I the only one to say something? We all knew the significance of her middle name, yet I was the only say it out loud.

I also went to a funeral. I was very close to the guy the funeral was for, we sat at many a family function together and provided a running commentary of the events; now he was a guy that loved words. We could get a riff going that could last a whole wedding. At the gravesite they asked if anybody wanted to say anything, and crickets. Out of all those people, nobody. So i raised my hand and said three things about him, nothing special. Actually it was special because they were true. And it broke the ice and started the memories flowing.

So the point is, when ever you’re in a situation like either, don’t be afraid to use your words. They mean a lot to the people listening. They may not remember what you said, they’ll remember you said it.