Word of the Week: Lugubrious

lugubrious  /adj./  mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.  crestfallen.  disconsolate.  glum.  woebegone.

lugubrious  /adj./  1.  Sometimes the word-of-the week makes me feel a bit cursed...like a crystal ball for my coming week or a fortune cookie that is always right.  This makes me think I should be more careful about my choices.  Nevertheless, the word was "lugubrious" and I felt it haunting me all week.  I was completely lugubrious most of the day Tuesday preparing for New Beginnings, feeling like my to-do list was too long.  I felt utterly woebegone by Wednesday, when I faced a crisis of confidence, and by Thursday night I was wholly disconsolate over the state of my house and laundry.  David will be thrilled when this word-of-the-week is behind me.

ist2_2913314_bad_news.jpg

lugubrious  /adj./  2.  We went on another family bike ride on Saturday.  We usually try to ride along the canals (safer than the roads with the kids)  but we got a bit lost trying to find a connecting canal to where we wanted to go.  There was a steep hill that we thought might connect them and so I walked down to check it out.  Olivia decided to ride down and got going way too fast.  I could see her barrelling down the hill, utter terror on her face and at the bottom a large, deep canal with no barrier between her and the water.  I screamed for her to brake, but this only made her bike fishtail and so I stepped in front of the bike, sending both of us and the bike flying into the dirt, but thankfully not into the water.   As you can imagine, she was extremely lugubrious about the crash, especially mournful about my bruises, but her lugubrious spirit perked up a bit when we pointed out that she was still dry...and alive.

lugubrious  /adj./  3.  Ethan has been lugubrious every week at church since he moved from Sunbeams up to CTR 5.  His lugubriousness has even started on Saturday evenings, knowing what is coming, and escalating to tears by the time we are taking the walk to class.  I think this stems less from his lack of desire to "choose the right" as it does from the fact that his last teacher was a wonder...better than Barney and Captain Kangaroo and Mary Poppins all rolled into one.  Every Sunday we ask him what he learned and he can't come up with anything...too busy being woebegone to listen, I imagine.

poppins3.jpg

lugubrious  /adj./  4.  We had big plans for a big family reunion with David's side of the family this summer on Lake Charlevoix in Michigan.  Unfortunately, the reunion was cancelled and we have been quite lugubrious about our foiled plans.  But on Monday we finally got over our dismal disappointment and started making plans of our own.  Actually got out the calendar and the atlas...both good signs.  Got online and checked out rentals on Mackinac Island...also a good sign.  Hopefully the lugubriousness is past and the excitement of planning another Michigan family vacation can begin in earnest.

mackinac_island_view.jpg

lugubrious  /adj./  5.  I will probably do another post about this in the next few days, but I just found out that President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet and president of our church, died this evening.  How dearly I loved him.  How glorious must have been his reunion today with his darling Marjorie.  What a life of love and service.  I am lugubrious about our loss, but so happy for his homecoming...it must have been quite a gathering, though he probably only had eyes for his sweetheart.  My heavy heart will miss him terribly.

Hinckley0016.jpg

marjorie.jpg

I don't think this amazing lady was lugubrious a day in her life...oh, I how love them both!