Your Beauty. Our Touch. Pure Chemistry.
Chemical Peels Dermal Fillers
Hydrafacials
FROM THE FRONT PORCH continued FROM THE FRONT PORCH continued
FROM THE FRONT PORCH con't. next column FROM THE FRONT PORCH con't. next column
Southern Pines Aesthetics & Laser Institute
6 Regional Drive, Suite C • Pinehurst
www.spa-laserinstitute.com 910-684-1588
Laser Hair Removal
Kybella
Botox
Free Consultations
Microneedling
Medical & Cosmetic Laser Services
Waxing
Lash Lift
Coolsculpting
Just in time for
SPRING.
Enjoy $200 off Your
Customized
Coolsculpting
Package!
Must present coupon to
receive offer. Exp. 6/30/18
Words
by Rebekah Sykes
Words fascinate me. They drive me, wake me,
stop me in the way begging to be remembered
before they are forgotten. With the Gazette, I
realize that a story written one day composes
differently than if written on another day,
same subject matter yet different words to tell.
Pondered over, crafted, yet upon delivery, the
words arrive differently from day to day as the
thoughts, ideas, relevance shared are in the
moment making the time to write a constant
internal struggle with the demands of life. I
understand why Thoreau escaped to Walden!
Words. The combination of letters, syllables,
sounds, make up
these beauties
that record the
story of life. Words
create emotion,
meaning they elicit
a response. Take the
word s-m-i-l-e, and
this combination
of letters makes
us—well, smile!
H-a-p-p-y brings a
memory of a favorite
person, place, or
thing that brings
joy, happiness, and
another smile. Or
jump, skip, race—
these action words
create energy,
a physical response within based on the
arrangement of their letters. Think hug, kiss,
love—we melt over these words as the names of
those we love pass through our hearts. Maybe
we stiffen, brace against these same words that
in the past meant something, yet in the present
bring raw pain of broken promises, regret. A
range of emotions flood the words of sunshine,
springtime, love, laughter, to tears, anger,
darkness, death.
Nations are composed on words. Yes, of
blood, sweat, tears, and belief, but the words
seal the deal! What’s important enough to be
protected in a 50-ton steel and concrete vault
that is waterproof, fireproof, quite possibly
atomic bomb-proof? Raised from and lowered
into the vault each morning and evening, the
Declaration of Independence, Constitution
and Bill of Rights, rest safely in a controlled
case kept at 70 degrees with 25-30% humidity.
Our freedom papers, our national heritage
communicated on the fragile parchment are
the words that validate our equality, our rights,
our freedom. These words remain secure for
generations to come.
Words pierce in conversation, soothe in
song, lead down rows of prose, give our hearts
to another. Think of an unforgettable story,
song, poem, sermon, lecture. The characters in
a favorite novel come to life through words as
they live, laugh, dance, and cry their way into
our hearts over the pages. Heartbreaks and
heart throbs inspire the lyrics of a favorite love
song; sermon illustrations lead the forgiven
down the aisle; speeches of politicians earn
that needed vote; lectures inspire the next
generation. Powerful enough to start wars yet
end them, words begin and end marriages the
same. All of these interesting little assimilations
of characters surely stir up a lot of life.
Haunting me from the cold attic space above
my office, files accumulated over thirteen years
of homeschooling have been calling my name.
Thousands upon thousands of worksheets
bulging from the black, plastic file folders
called for a good spring cleaning as getting life
cleaned out remains a top priority for 2018. The
worksheets were saved for just in case the state
needed confirmation and I validation—or for
just in case one son became the President, and
the Archives desired his masterpieces. Ha! Yes,
I’m one of those moms who sees no limits to
their children’s aspirations. You might as well go
for it and be all you can be!
Getting things cleaned out trumped my
high hopes, so I got to work sorting through the
years. All of those hours spent grading papers,
as the daylight slipped away into darkness...
the stickers chosen and comments shared still
make me smile. “Pay attention! Good job! Don’t
get distracted! 100% A+ Keep up the great work!
You are a Star!” As I worked my way through
the stacks of papers resting in folders of army
green, eggplant purple, rusty orange, and vanilla
manila, the question boiled down to what to
keep, what to toss. Determining the answer
came down to one word—words!
Truly less is more, especially when it came to
the math papers. Sorry, mathematicians, I am
sure you have an equal affinity for numbers, but
all of those numbers only “numb” creatives. But
the words?!?! Ahh! Pure magic! Those expressed
from a little 5 year old boy trying to make
sense of the spoken words becoming written.
In learning the letters, the sounds they make,
the shapes that form their existence and their
identity, these magical words grew one letter
at a time. As the single letters on worksheets
became blends then words, pages became filled
with these magical unions crafting a story of a
beautiful life, one letter at a time.
The little boy wrote his name, his full name,
his age. He filled a little journal entitled, “All
About Me” wherein Mommy was his teacher,
Amos and Theodore his doggies, Oreo his kitty.
He told about his community, his church,
his friends, family, mailman, and the park
where he was brave enough to zip down the
tallest slide and jump out of swings with his
brothers. He records his favorite journey over
the sidewalk cracks to the Ice Cream Parlor for
a rainbow sherbet. His little journal is colored
in his favorite colors wherein it doesn’t matter
if Mommy is pink, green, or yellow— she is his
world; she is loved.
Over the years, the words grow along with
the little boy into sentences, paragraphs, essays,
book reports, research papers. There’s the
book report where we discover new uses for
plants with George Washington Carver, spell
words with Helen Keller, help slaves escape
with Harriet Tubman, discover the Victoria falls
with Livingstone, and fight on horseback with
General Washington. Inspired by the written
words of others, his written words inspire
more life and continue with identifying local
birds, leaves and trees around town. Chemistry
reports brings smiles reacting to the explosions,
the stinky sulfur, the ammonia. Spelling lists—
that unforgettable one where the spelling test
records a date of April 1st, and every single word
is mis-spelled! Every single word! On that day,
my heart was crushed! We had worked so hard
to learn those words! And now he earned a solid
0% to our 100% effort. Through my tears, his
tears came—you know the ones from laughing
so hard you cry! Ha! He got me! April Fools! That
rascal intentionally misspelled the words for the
holiday. Not so funny, buddy!
As the multiple boxes get narrowed down,
childhood passes before my eyes. To hear
the tender thoughts of a child, to know him
in the moment, the fleeting moment never
to be relived—words make that possible. As
his world grew, so grew the words of new
adventure. Currently my oldest is writing essays
to UNC, NC State, and other universities. Once
admissions reads his words, they have the
power to either accept or deny this young man
into their program with a typed response sealed
and delivered by US mail that will determine the
rest of his life. With a “Yeah” or “Nay,” the course
is set as future professors, students, friendships
along the journey will influence a career, a
marriage, children, a future. Words determine
lives.
Remembering back to my college days
wherein dear Dr. Chapman delighted to tell
his students about William Shakespeare’s
involvement in the greatest written words of all
time past, present, and future. Shakespeare, a
contemporary during the translation of the KJV
in 1610, was 46 years old. Being quite a master
of the language, Shakespeare seems to have
interjected a signature reference in Psalm 46.
When you count 46 words in, you find “shake”
and count 46 works from the end you get “spear.”
In determining the etymology of words, there is
much debate, however I agree with John who
stated, “In the beginning was the Word.” From
before the world began to present, the power of
the word, both spoken and written, still reigns.
As you climb your attic steps for a little
spring cleaning, be on the look out for those
masterpieces of memories written over the
pages of time. Take the time to read the words
that say, “This is my story. This is my life.” As
your story unfolds, we will be checking our
mailbox for a letter either accepting or rejecting
my son into his chosen program of study. Come
what may, his words have traveled from, “I love
my teacher whose name is Mom”... to “I love my
girlfriend whose name is Lexi.” From, “My name
is Jon” to “Jonathan Peter Sykes, and I am writing
the next chapter of the rest of my life.”
As you write your story, choose your words
wisely as life steps in tandem.
The
combination
of letters,
syllables,
sounds, make
up these
beauties that
record the
story of life.
No. 130 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.3
/www.spa-laserinstitute.com