The Best Birthday Present Ever

Yikes!!!! I should have fired
my hair stylist!!!! (circa 1983)

The day started out like most any other except that it was to be no ordinary day. I awoke at the usual time, 6:30 a.m., brushed the sleep from my eyes, and immediately realized what today was. September 25th, the day when I blessed my Mom and Dad with their beautiful "bundle of joy", as my mother so endearingly refers to me, even though it has been 49 years. After taking a brief moment to ingest the reality of having lived as long as I have, I decided to make my way downstairs for a calming yoga session to gently ease into my day. I went about the rest of my day in the usual fashion, but gosh, I wanted it to be riddled with excitement, joy, and complete and utter bliss. Gee, was I asking too much? Good grief! Was it my responsibility to see to it that I enjoy myself on my birthday?  Ha! Ha! That's what I have a family for; to make me feel like a queen as I am supposed to feel! Ha! Ha! In any case, as is customary in my family, receiving a barrage of phone calls on one's birthday is usually a highlight of the day . However, on this very day, I was to receive an unexpected phone call that brought me all the joy, exhiliration, and bliss I needed. Wow! She took me by complete and utter surprise! I am referring to my good friend, Donna. Donna and I met 38 years ago, when both of us, new to our neighborhood, were standing at the bus stop on the first day of 5th grade. Little could have I imagined that all these years later, a friendship that started out strong and solid would still endure today. It hadn't been since our 30th High School reunion, two summers ago since we last spoke. I miss Donna but didn't realize how much until I heard that usual, Laaaauuuuuurie (my real name is Laurie) I always used to hear when she called. It was to be a phone call filled with laughter and tears - it was as though time stood ever so still. I was saddened to hear of the passing of Donna's mother this past March as she was like a second mother to me. She was one of the funniest people I have ever known. Holy cow! We laughed like we used to at our countless sleepovers when we were young girls! Although our phone calls are few and far between and the times we see one another even less, I know one thing is for certain, my friendship with Donna will always be like a ship holding its course steady in gusty winds. So, on my 49th birthday, I lifted my glass of wine, made a heartfelt toast and said, "Gee whiz! How'd I get so gosh darn lucky to have received the best birthday present ever?"

Vocabulary
1. ordinary (adjective)- average or usual, no different or special in any way
2. endearingly (adverb)- making someone like or love you
3. ingest (verb)- to take things in mentally
4. yoga (noun)- exercises that help calm the mind and body
5. fashion (verb)- manner in which something is done
6. gosh (interjection)- a word used to express suprise
7. riddled (adjective)- very full of something
8. barrage (noun)- a lot of something (ie, questions, complaints)
9. utter (adjective) complete or extreme

Exercise:
Yikes!!!! Can you guess what the mixed-up, topsy-turvey words below are? Unscramble them to find out. Notice I didn't give you any hints!!

1.  rabgear  __  __  __  __  __  __  __

2.  anordyi    __  __  __  __  __  __  __

3.  gsnite  __ __  __  __  __  __

4. hafinso  __  __  __  __  __  __  __

5.  gaoy  __  __  __  __

6.  yiganledenr  __  __  __  __  __  __  __  __  __  __

7.  teutr   __  __  __  __  __

8.  erdildd  __  __  __  __  __  __  __  

9.  ohsg  __  __  __  __  

Grammar Point
Interjections are a lexical category that literally means "thrown in between" from the Latin inter (between) and acere (thrown). In lay terms it is a big name for little words or phrases used to show excitement or emotion on the part of the speaker. Examples of some interjections are eeek, gadzooks, bam, holy smokes, oh my, and yikes. Do you use interjections in your everyday speech? Write a 1-page story about an unexpected surprise you experienced using as many interjections you possibly can.

Not always considered acceptable when producing  adequate writing samples in today's classrooms, interjections are definitely a useful and effective way of expressing oneself. To better understand their place where areas of English grammar are concerned click on the following links:

http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/list-of-interjections.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhHpJ45_zwM