You're Lovely

When I was growing up, my maternal grandmother used to tell me,

"You're lovely."

It has stuck with me all of these years mostly because I'm a fanatic about the power of language. 

Specific words hand picked to describe people, experiences, and emotions can give you the perfect window into the moment.  And if it's really done right, can make you viscerally feel or taste the situation.

And so, I love the word lovely.  It's not beautiful or pretty.  It's not intelligent or smart.  It's not precocious or coquettish.  It's not charming or delightful.  It's not pleasant or amiable. 

But rather, it's a slice of all of those adjectives wrapped into one.  And at it's linguistic core, it means that you're lovable.  Something to be adored.  Someone to wrap your arms around.  An entity to be cherished.

And she is certainly someone that I feel blessed to have been loved by.

So, now, when I'm thinking about how to describe a person, I hearken back to "lovely" and I try to spend time contemplating..."If I could pick the perfect word (or as my friend called out the other day the perfect ten words) to describe you...just you and only you...what would I say?"

Lovely is just so lovely.