choice
On Purim I discover two new synagogues. One is more formal, ordered, and elegant. The other is smaller and more relaxed, with an atmosphere of scrappiness and inspiration, impassioned talks that spill over their time limit. I'm drawn more to the second one than the first, but they both have interesting programs; I like that they're only several blocks apart, making it easier for me to bounce back and forth between them.
fair
In kindergarten one of the first phrases he picked up was 'no fair.' He uses it in a complaining tone for just about anything that doesn't go his way, sometimes with justification, other times not. I don't know if he understands what 'fair' really means, aside from "things didn't happen the way I thought they should" - but then again many adults use that as the operative definition of 'fair' as well.
flexibility
As she grows older she has a more flexible way of playing with her toys. Instead of sticking to a rigid script, she's more apt to improvise or respond to improvisation, to start up longer conversations and interactions between the characters. It makes an hour of My Little Ponies more entertaining.
hilarity
As I watch them howling with laughter at the dining room table, I smile and remember how as a child just about anything could set me off when I was in a certain mood, and I'd be laughing so hard my stomach would hurt. It still happens these days - this doubled-over, knee-slapping happiness - but much more rarely. (It reminds me of my favorite scene in Mary Poppins: the tea party on the ceiling and that wonderful song, "I Love to Laugh.")
pathogenic
When people need to stay in a hospital they're fighting not only the original illness or condition that landed them there; in too many cases they're also battling medical incompetence and strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.
smooch
The day has a warm and expansive personality, greeting me with a kiss to the cheek as I step out the door.
terminology
In the middle of a Foosball game I can't come up with a word for the spinning bars on which the player figurines are mounted, so I just call them 'shish-kebabs.'
