I am a word person.

Words hold a magical, fantastical power in my world—a world where feelings, experiences and reality itself can be transformed with a properly-placed, exquisitely-conjured turn of phrase.

I hold onto words like some people hold onto photos, souvenirs or family heirlooms.

I savor them, repeat them inside my dreamy head and flip them over and over like smooth, shiny stones in my hand. They are living, breathing entities that mold my existence, enhance my passions and fuel my emotions.

This being the case, it only makes sense that I would take every sentence that my husband Derek utters and put it in my mouth—tasting it, savoring it, holding it for a while before swallowing and digesting it.

The texture, flavor and emotional nutritional value are calculated and imprinted on my word-memorizing brain forever and from there whatever he says goes neatly into the “anthology of Derek-isms” that only I have eternal access to.

1. “I love making you laugh; it’s like a little drug.”

This is the library of beautiful, love-filled word cocktails that gets me through tough days.

It’s the highlight reel that I turn to when we are arguing and I can’t remember who he is or who I am at the moment. It is a historical documentation of our lives together and our changing circumstances, goals and locations. It is my constant reminder of our closeness, our connection and his uncanny ability to reach my soul with a simple thought expressed verbally or in written form, written for only me.

2. “I just want to lie in the grass and play with parts of your body.”

The negative sentiments that inevitably creep into conversations, fights and thoughtless, careless moments have no place in the “anthology of Derek-isms.”

Holding onto those words is damaging, useless, hopeless and dangerous. We’ve both said things we didn’t mean. We’ve hurt each other over the past 20 years with words and actions alike.

It happens. This is life. This is marriage.

I much prefer this very personal and sentimental anthology to contain the best of our time together, because time is a funny thing. It creeps along so silently and casually that we don’t always feel its passing.

Life is a funny thing too. We never know what’s around the corner. Focusing on the positive in our joint union serves me much better than holding on to the negative.   

3. “You’ve just always felt so good by my side.”

I am hoping for many more “Derek-isms” to color my life, enrich my human experience and make my heart swell, because there are few things I enjoy more than the delicious things my husband says.

Readers, I hope you have your own anthology and feed it regularly.

Save the lovely things people say to you for a rainy day and don’t doubt their validity over time. Don’t be afraid to pull them out and bask in their warmth, roll around in their comfort and breathe in their energy.

These are the moments that make life beautiful.

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Apprentice Editor: Bronwyn Petry / Editor: Travis May
Photo: State of Florida Archives, Flickr Creative Commons