He had a pretty good cough going when he left for school, but every time he gets a cold, it stirs up his asthma, so I chalked the cough mostly up to that.

I arrived home from picking up groceries today to find him on the couch, sleepily rubbing his eyes and red-cheeked with fever.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, smoothing his shaggy hair back from his forehead.

“Not so good,” he croaked. “My brain really, really hurts.”

What’s your most recent kid speak funny?

It’s not going to happen though, folks, as I find myself sitting here feeling like I’m living among ice cubes with a headache that waves between pure fog and dull pain. No gems from me tonight.

So instead I decided to list some of my favorite words in the English language, some of which inspire me, and some that paint vivid mental pictures in my ridiculously active brain. It’s about all I can muster at the moment.

Here goes:

torn, rich, warm, gold, rose, shatter, glisten, fall, harp, comfort, jewel, green, lilac, grace, candle, weave, wonder, piano, wine, crimson

What words inspire you?