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That same night, I picked up another book, which Kellen told me “wasn’t a good one.” It was a book titled “Other Wordly<\/strong><\/em>–words both strange and lovely from around the world.”<\/p>\n“Croodle<\/strong><\/em>” is an English word which means “to cuddle nestle together from fear or cold.”<\/p>\n “Inglenook<\/strong><\/em> is another English or Scots term indicating a “close, intimate corner by a fireplace where people gather for warmth.”<\/p>\n Swedes use the word “smultronst\u00e4lle<\/strong><\/em>” to describe “a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress or sadness.”<\/p>\n German offers two words that fit our current circumstances:<\/p>\n “Schwellenangst<\/strong><\/em>” literally is “threshold anxiety or the fear of embarking on something new or entering a place.”<\/p>\n And, “kummerspeck<\/strong><\/em>, excessive weight gain through eating as a means of relieving stress or strong emotions” –an apt description of my response to the stress of the past few months. While we have trimmed down our stuff, I will be taking an extra 10 lbs to the new house.<\/p>\n We’ve been busy sorting through our stuff and packing. Elmhurst conveniently had a Spring Cleanup Day a week ago and the College hosted a Recycling Event this last Saturday. A POD was dropped off this morning, which John plans to fill with the contents of our garage. (I was dismayed to see its signage: 1-800-PACKRAT.) We sign the closing documents on the 9th; have the POD picked up on the 10th; and the movers come on the 11th. Both closings are on the 12th and we will move in on the 13th.<\/p>\n We are so looking forward to having this behind us, to creating a smutronst\u00e4lle<\/em> in Aurora, an inglenook<\/em>\u00a0and a place to croodle<\/em> with our grandkids. We’re especially interested in leaving behind the schwenllenangst<\/em> of the past months, as well as the kummerspeck.\u00a0<\/em>One thing we know for sure; we are no longer (if we ever were) invincible!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of my favorite grandparenting activities is reading to (and now with) my grandkids. Some books have a way of showing up in real life. For example, Kellen, who was not obeying at the time, recently announced to me that … Continue reading