Bloom More Than Once
Which are you, an ‘annual’ or a ‘perennial’ ?
Annuals complete their life cycles in a single year. They don’t regenerate themselves. They must be replanted every season when you want them in your garden.
Perennials tend to come back every spring.
Scrabble players can be classified as ‘annuals’ or ‘perennials’ according to their style of play, their study habits, and the lists of words they focus on during their pursuit of word knowledge.
The ‘annuals’ bursts onto the scene and are very flashy. They always show up because someone or something else brought them. They are very colorful and charming. They are always looking at their watches and answering their cell phones. When they stop to talk with you they are always looking over your shoulder for someone more interesting, or higher rated, who might walk in the door. If fact, they see themselves as the most beautiful and smartest flowers in the room. They strictly learn words like ‘aboideau’, ‘ouistiti’, ‘filariid’, and ‘unununium’; words that will leave you with your jaw on the floor. But they usually don’t know all the 2′s and 3′s. The annuals don’t bother developing a study plan and only learn some of the words played against them; they don’t care since they will be gone at the end of the year.
The ‘perennial’ is a whole different kind of flower. Perennials get real comfortable in their own soil. They are not afraid of getting their roots dirty. They know that they will be on the scene for many seasons. Perennials develop deep and sincere relationships with everyone in their neighborhood, both giving and receiving. They start at the beginning and are methodical in their studies. They understand that everything must have a strong foundation to thrive. They learn some flashy words along the way, but their focus is on stems, anagrams, and hooks. They are loyal to the garden and are even welcoming to the annuals who come and go.
Club #350 welcomes annuals and perennials to play at it’s sessions and tournaments. It has been my observation that annuals are capable of winning now and then, but most of the names on the Honor Roll and on the Checks (cash prizes) go to the perennials.
To that end, as a diehard educator, I devote vast amounts of time and energy to develop and produce learning tools, like the BOOKMARK SERIES, available to help every annual and perennial achieve their scrabble goals. Click on BOOKMARKS and check them out.
BLOOM MORE THAN ONCE.