Wednesday, July 9, 2014

28 Things to Do in the Meantime

evening sky, July 2014

"Meantime is middle time. It is an intervening or intermediate period. We associate meantime with a pause, a hiatus, an interlude, a recess from strictly specified action." --Elizabeth Harper Neeld, A Sacred Primer

July is meantime month. With all the summer activities, family time, the great outdoors--where does writing fit in? Sometimes it doesn't! But that's okay. For, in the meantime...

So far in our neck of the woods, July's meantime for us has meant the Ft. Thomas, KY, Fourth of July 5K Firecracker Race/Walk. Hubby ran; I walked. He placed 2nd for males in his age group; I placed 3rd for females in mine. But don't give us too much credit--there were only six people in his age group, seven in mine! The highlight of the day was when our six-year old granddaughter, who was helping at the water station, handed cups of refreshing water to, among others, her grandpa and grandma. (btw, Ft. Thomas has lots of history, especially Civil War era. It's also home to the Blue Marble, a darling children's bookstore that has even replicated the great green room of Margaret Wise Brown's classic, Goodnight Moon. Want to experience a delightful youtube reading of the book? You'll find it here.)

July to this point has also meant a family road trip one state over to a quaint little pre-Civil War canal town, Metamora, Indiana. There we experienced a train ride, canal lore, antique stores, and a number of farm animals in the fields of a nearby farm. We also stopped in a used-book store where I found a treasure: Hospital Sketches, An Army Nurse's True Account of her Experiences during the Civil War, by Louisa May Alcott. This particular volume is a 1993 reprint of work originally published in 1863. I have a number of books on my shelf pertaining to the Civil War, but not one like this. I'm looking forward to a great read.

Ahead, July also means birthday celebrations, movie nights, family needs, and simple stop-and-take-stock moments. After all, we're right smack in the middle of the year. Half the days behind us, half ahead.  What goals have we made progress on? What might we re-evaluate? Maybe our writing has by necessity slowed down. Maybe the itch is there but not the time. Maybe...well, maybe we should just say in the meantime.

"In the meantime" (phrase): during the intervening time; until a later time."

What are some things we can do "in the meantime"? Consider the following 28 possibilities:

1. anticipate
2. abbreviate
3. accomodate
4. aerate

How about:
5. allocate
6. annotate
7. appreciate
8. approximate

Maybe:
9. calculate
10. celebrate
11. contemplate
12. cooperate

Don't forget:
13. decorate
14. delegate
15. deliberate
16. demonstrate

We could say more:
17. generate
18. illuminate
19. incubate
20. initiate

And:
21. liberate
22. lubricate
23. marinate
24. meditate

Finally:
25. percolate
26. punctuate
27. recreate
28. resuscitate!

But please don't exaggerate, frustrate, hesitate, infuriate, procrastinate, vacillate, or vegetate!

(see what a good rhyming dictionary can do for you?)

I dabbled in some wordplay in my meantime. What are some things you do in yours?
___________________________________

5 comments:

  1. Delightful pictures and post. We're deep into summer here as well, and not much writing's going on because of all the things we can do in summer that we can't, other times of year. I'm appreciating and celebrating and recreating. We took a trip to Canada (Vernon, BC) over the 4th of July. This weekend, there's a wedding to attend near Leavenworth, WA and camping overnight. Then next week, we hope to fly to Anacortes to see Mike's mother and also do some flying around the San Jaun Islands. In the meantimes, when the fun's not happening, I'm trying to do some writing fun. Mike's flying to the Arlington Air Show tomorrow. I'll stay home and look at my manuscript for the first time in nearly a month.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cathy, with all that's on your schedule this summer, I bet there you'll add a few more of those "-ates," like: anticipate events, generate ideas, and let those ideas percolate for when you can develop them! Enjoy all the fun times :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am impressed with your alliteration! Fun post!

    Our "meantime" was a little early this year. June was filled with Fathers' Day, 3 family birthdays, a family reunion, and a 9-day trip to Disney World with our sons and their families. We had so many great moments. And I've been so productive since we got back that I can't help but think I need more vacations!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Erg, just left a long comment and hit the wrong button I guess because it didn't show up! Darn it. Anyway, fun and clever post! I'm visiting with family, etc. through the rest of the month. It'll be August before I know it :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Peggy, happy to hear from you. Sounds like your 'meantime' has been quite busy but also profitable. Good for you!

    And Jess, it's amazing how fast the summer goes, isn't it? But our times with family are really what it's all about. Enjoy July and all that it holds for you :-) And then there's your launching of "The Actual and Truthful Becky Thatcher'--that is truly exciting news for you this summer!

    ReplyDelete