A Sesquipedalian's Apology

On a hike today near Glacier Point, my friend and current roommate, Sonya, and I had plenty of time to talk.  During our conversation, I kept hearing myself saying things like, "I agree." Suddenly, that sounded ridiculously formal to me.  I was in a normal, every-day conversation.  It seems like there must be a more casual way of saying that--maybe, "For real," or "Yeah."  And then I started wondering, when did I start talking so intelligently?  When was that point in time when bigger words and more complex sentence construction started making its way into my every-day conversations?  And where is the off-switch so I don't have to sound smart all the time? That makes me sound like a jerk, but really, I want people to be comfortable in conversation, and not having to take a few minutes to process.  Teaching 2nd grade was good for me, because it trained me to break things down and say things as simply as possible.  It also helped to live with two awesome girls who spoke English as their second language.  But now that I'm back in American adult-land, its back.

I blame it on grad school.  I think that's how it started.  When you've been cramming thousands of words into your brain every day, and then regurgitating it all out in different, scholarly-sounding words, maybe it takes awhile to say things normally again.  Even longer than six months of big-word-detox in Yap, and three months of not talking much at all.  Oh well.  Until I conquer this battle of big words, I would like to convey my whole-hearted gratitude for your magnanimous forbearance.

"Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say."  Eph. 4:29  (CEV)