Continual plodders

The Bard constantly colors my world

So Jamie's first trip to America was a series of milestones in both of our lives. It's all been so joyous that our hearts, notwithstanding their capacity, receiveth as the sea, and we can barely comprehend our own happiness. Long story short, by the time we actually finally recited that Romeo and Juliet sonnet together (live and in person!), we were engaged.

*SQUEE*

I immediately conjured Shakespearean lines in my mind for use in my future wedding vows:

What worthy blessing can be

but our imaginations may make it ours?

And being here thus together, 

we are an endless mine to one another...

Context alert: Ok, sure it's from The Two Noble Kinsmen and it's a dude talking to his male cousin about being together in prison for the remainder of their lives only seconds before a woman walks onto the stage and causes them to quarrel like rutting stags, but it sounds romantic lifted out of the speech, ALRIGHT?

Anyhoo...

Our parting was sickly sweet sorrow (how intimately I understand that line now!). So, I decided to mark the countdown until our next reunion on Christmas Eve by rehashing my current list of 47 speeches every day. Well, nearly every day, since the countdown began with 64 days, so I've taken some weekends off. However, I'm right on target to do some serious recitations on a consistent basis. 

In plodding away, I've found that I've reached a new plateau with the memory skills. Most every line I practice comes out faster and with more confidence than ever before. It feels almost effortless, but that's what over 17 months of constant exposure will do for you! 

I concentrate on one speech every night, reciting it to myself just before bed, then several times in the car on the way to work. Any given speech trips off my lips at least ten times in 24 hours. I also double back whenever I'm in an especially good mood, and practice that week's past speeches. 

The effect it's had on my understanding of rhythm and language is beyond my measure, and the familiarity truly brings new insight into the written and spoken word. I encounter prose, lyrics, and poetry so differently now. I notice the structure and nuance of everything I read and hear far more clearly, and it shapes my personal compositions in definitive ways. 

It has been most rewarding to continue this project. Though I don't post as often as I used to, I promise that these words and images have profoundly colored my daily mindscape. It's always folding around my thoughts, always making me grateful that I pushed myself to start this journey, as it has enriched my life in ways I never could have imagined.

Continual plodders ever won...