Today's word comes from the nurse at my father's assisted living facility. It hits me hard on several fronts. I was just wondering if my continued blogging was going above and beyond the reasonable span of perseverance. Has my attempt to log online crossed into something besides writing practice? When my muse suggested I start a blog back in July of '03, she probably didn't mean I had to keep posting forever. What would I do without my blog?
I love to tell deserving students how impressed I am when they persevere. Kids love that this big word describes the big effort they put into finishing a task
Perseveration is an aberration of perseverance. It's a useful word to describe Dad's uncontrollable repetition of words, phrases, gestures, and fixation on certain thoughts. Dad perseverates on time, hours, minutes, waiting, delays, punctuality, and tardiness. Every event from breakfast to bathtime has the stress level of a Superbowl kickoff or NASA blast.
© 2009 Nancy L. Ruder
1 comment:
"Perseveration is an aberration..." I am so sorry to learn about your Dad's repetition of words. It must be heartbreaking.
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