All it takes is One Word

via Daily Prompt: Gate

When I saw this word in my Reader for the Daily Prompt I laughed as I shook my head. I laughed for the word “gate” brought an incident from my past  to my mind that I had been talking about with friends just that day.

I had shared before how pictures can jog your brain and bring back memories that make you smile. How you can look at one picture and be transported back in time. Words can do the same. One word  can hold more meaning then just its definition.  They can remind us of fun conversations and crazy incidents.

My friend texted me last night.  She was watching a show and on it the boyfriend had a pet name for his girlfriend. It was “Fluffer Nutter”.  I laughed as I texted her back.  That used to only be the name of a sandwich that I loved eating when I was younger.  Last year I had told my dear friends about the sandwich, which they had never heard before, and suffice to say their response changed the meaning of that name for me forever.

The word “monopoly” makes me think of how every Christmas when I was a child we would have a big Monopoly game between my older siblings and my parents . I  remember being so excited when I was finally old enough to play.  Though after losing multiple times I found it more fun to cheer my brother and sister on.  The object was for someone to beat my Dad and it was obtained a few times.

When someone mentions the word truffle, I want to go back to Switzerland and have some of their truffles.  Want to sit by the lake again as we sample the different kinds that we had  purchased at the shop.  A beautiful spring day of watching a Swan on the lake and filling our stomach with sweet treats.

I obviously can never hear the word “Jackalope” again now without thinking of Jaxon, and the story behind how he came to be one of the characters on Moonbeam Farm.   I hear the word “owl”  and immediately think of the sharp wit of Odessa, and of course Dewey rules when the word “cat” comes up!  Don’t you all agree?

Phrases like ” May I help you” and “Just ask”, are polite phrases that we all know.  These 2 phrases hold an additional meaning for me now,  given the number of times I have heard them and the context that they were in.  All in a fun way, but they certainly don’t only hold the polite meaning for me anymore.

Mention the word “pond” and I can still hear the sounds of the bullfrogs from the pond I visited so many times over 20 years ago.  The word “butterfly”  reminds me of the pet butterfly that my youngest had taken care of until its wing healed and it could fly again.

The list is unending!  What words compile the list in your brain?  What images do they bring to your mind?   May your day be blessed with wonderful words today.   May you hear them and spread them to others.   We can never spread too many words bring smiles to others.  Words that evoke pleasant images in your mind and bring a smile to the heart with perhaps a laugh as well.