As always, I loved your essay, Sarah. I knew I was in trouble with wordle when I was frustrated each time the game ended, wanting another one. No matter how well I did, it wasn't enough. Worse, if I was running late and something had to slip off my list of morning rituals, meditation would go by the wayside before wordle.
It's been a while since I've engaged with the puzzle. When I left it behind, some tension went with it, and a bit of light entered the empty space.
thank you, Mary ~ and I can relate to these sentiments. Because there is only one every 24 hours, I can control myself. However, there is a NYT tiles game that had to quit cold turkey before it took me down!
Ha ha Wordle yessssss, I like to start with patio or earth (which can also be heart)… or maple, syrup, or savor…. My sweetie and I play every morning after bkfast. We love the ritual to start the day. For this snowy morning, the kitchen will be cast in gray light (possible words-snowy, light). On sunny mornings, this time of year, the light bends through many prisms in the windows and casts rainbows around our kitchen (bends, prism, sunny). If the wordle-word is not appearing to us we move on to puzzle Connections, then return to Wordle with success…. and on Sundays we finish off the word puzzles by reading a poem.
For me, I enjoy playing together, noticing the light of day, sharing idea for first word, and hearing his voice. Thank you Sarah for sharing your Wordle experience and creating a relatable opportunity for readers to offer theirs.
I love everything about this ~ how we begin our days sets the tone for the rest of the day! John and I used to wordle together, sending screenshots back and forth, but never at the same time.
And I'm going to be "borrowing" some of your first words, too ~ thanks, Kristen!!
I loved this Sarah! I too have changed my attitude to all of the Word games over the last several months, from intensely competitive with myself to “this is interesting but oh well today I failed.” It is a relief, and as I can never equal the results my adult daughters get day after day anyway 😂, I now simply admire their skill at these games and go on my way.
Also thank you for the book recommendation! Having had (completely unrealistic!) dreams of being a ballet dancer when I was young, it sounds perfect.
Enjoy the spectacle of the Super Bowl and eating whatever you decide to cook! Thank you for your writing.
Thanks, Martha! I find the dynamics of wordle to be fascinating, and one so many have an opinion, too.
The Turnout is a real page-turner and a complete distraction from the day's politics. I first became familiar with the author of another book, The Fever, inspired by the young women from LeRoy HS who were stricken by a "mysterious illness." This was in 2011, so perhaps you remember the incident?
And yes, I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl ~ dare I say it in Western NY, but GO CHIEFS!!
If you're ever free, I'd love to have you join us in writing on a Monday ~ xo
Thank you Sarah! I am eager to join one of the Monday sessions, and have been working on how to juggle dog walks with the start time. I’ll figure it out!
Hi Sarah! I read your essay with great pleasure, amusement, and recognition. Brilliant of course, the way you thread together your response to a word game and response to life in general--microcosm/macrocosm--which is of course what all great memoir is: particular to universal. Okay, also, envy. Because I am the only one in my family of word-game-obsessed people (starting with my mother and on down to the grandchildren) who won't play any word games. Ever. I used to love games. Card games. Board games. Scrabble. Boggle. Now I can't stand it when anyone in a position of power is playing games with other peoples' lives. High stakes games. Games that shouldn't be games. Or even the Superbowl, while my word-game loving family is besotted with the sheer fun of watching and cheering. Win or lose, I know I am the big loser because I can't get in the game. So yes, I envy your engagement, that you care, that you find pleasure in Wordle and all the rest. Not to mention life lessons, self-reflection, and a beautiful piece of writing. Words are so beautiful, so rife with meaning, and yes just one letter changes EVERYTHING. Yours on the outside looking in. Peggy
You know, I can absolutely relate to every word you have written ~ this essay would have been significantly longer had I not edited out my experience with competitive word games played in a group setting. I married into a cutthroat Scrabble family, which nearly killed me because while I consider myself a wordsmith, I could never put together the necessary high-scoring words, which is honestly more about strategy than the words themselves. For the same reason, I loathe playing most board games (in general) for the same reason ~ there was so much gloating and making the others feel less than...but that is another essay entirely.
I think that's why wordle works ~ because I'm only playing against myself (and the annoying bot), and oh, how I WISH I had the insight to have included the last line of your comment ~ in life and in words, one letter has the potential to change everything!
If you ever want to join us on Mondays to write, I'd love your good company ~ xo
As always, I loved your essay, Sarah. I knew I was in trouble with wordle when I was frustrated each time the game ended, wanting another one. No matter how well I did, it wasn't enough. Worse, if I was running late and something had to slip off my list of morning rituals, meditation would go by the wayside before wordle.
It's been a while since I've engaged with the puzzle. When I left it behind, some tension went with it, and a bit of light entered the empty space.
thank you, Mary ~ and I can relate to these sentiments. Because there is only one every 24 hours, I can control myself. However, there is a NYT tiles game that had to quit cold turkey before it took me down!
Ha ha Wordle yessssss, I like to start with patio or earth (which can also be heart)… or maple, syrup, or savor…. My sweetie and I play every morning after bkfast. We love the ritual to start the day. For this snowy morning, the kitchen will be cast in gray light (possible words-snowy, light). On sunny mornings, this time of year, the light bends through many prisms in the windows and casts rainbows around our kitchen (bends, prism, sunny). If the wordle-word is not appearing to us we move on to puzzle Connections, then return to Wordle with success…. and on Sundays we finish off the word puzzles by reading a poem.
For me, I enjoy playing together, noticing the light of day, sharing idea for first word, and hearing his voice. Thank you Sarah for sharing your Wordle experience and creating a relatable opportunity for readers to offer theirs.
I love everything about this ~ how we begin our days sets the tone for the rest of the day! John and I used to wordle together, sending screenshots back and forth, but never at the same time.
And I'm going to be "borrowing" some of your first words, too ~ thanks, Kristen!!
I loved this Sarah! I too have changed my attitude to all of the Word games over the last several months, from intensely competitive with myself to “this is interesting but oh well today I failed.” It is a relief, and as I can never equal the results my adult daughters get day after day anyway 😂, I now simply admire their skill at these games and go on my way.
Also thank you for the book recommendation! Having had (completely unrealistic!) dreams of being a ballet dancer when I was young, it sounds perfect.
Enjoy the spectacle of the Super Bowl and eating whatever you decide to cook! Thank you for your writing.
Thanks, Martha! I find the dynamics of wordle to be fascinating, and one so many have an opinion, too.
The Turnout is a real page-turner and a complete distraction from the day's politics. I first became familiar with the author of another book, The Fever, inspired by the young women from LeRoy HS who were stricken by a "mysterious illness." This was in 2011, so perhaps you remember the incident?
And yes, I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl ~ dare I say it in Western NY, but GO CHIEFS!!
If you're ever free, I'd love to have you join us in writing on a Monday ~ xo
Thank you Sarah! I am eager to join one of the Monday sessions, and have been working on how to juggle dog walks with the start time. I’ll figure it out!
Hi Sarah! I read your essay with great pleasure, amusement, and recognition. Brilliant of course, the way you thread together your response to a word game and response to life in general--microcosm/macrocosm--which is of course what all great memoir is: particular to universal. Okay, also, envy. Because I am the only one in my family of word-game-obsessed people (starting with my mother and on down to the grandchildren) who won't play any word games. Ever. I used to love games. Card games. Board games. Scrabble. Boggle. Now I can't stand it when anyone in a position of power is playing games with other peoples' lives. High stakes games. Games that shouldn't be games. Or even the Superbowl, while my word-game loving family is besotted with the sheer fun of watching and cheering. Win or lose, I know I am the big loser because I can't get in the game. So yes, I envy your engagement, that you care, that you find pleasure in Wordle and all the rest. Not to mention life lessons, self-reflection, and a beautiful piece of writing. Words are so beautiful, so rife with meaning, and yes just one letter changes EVERYTHING. Yours on the outside looking in. Peggy
You know, I can absolutely relate to every word you have written ~ this essay would have been significantly longer had I not edited out my experience with competitive word games played in a group setting. I married into a cutthroat Scrabble family, which nearly killed me because while I consider myself a wordsmith, I could never put together the necessary high-scoring words, which is honestly more about strategy than the words themselves. For the same reason, I loathe playing most board games (in general) for the same reason ~ there was so much gloating and making the others feel less than...but that is another essay entirely.
I think that's why wordle works ~ because I'm only playing against myself (and the annoying bot), and oh, how I WISH I had the insight to have included the last line of your comment ~ in life and in words, one letter has the potential to change everything!
If you ever want to join us on Mondays to write, I'd love your good company ~ xo