Author: Derek R Henig

Parsimonious

[ par-suh-MOH-nee-us ]

Adjective

Exhibiting or marked by thrift or economy; especially: frugal to the point of stinginess.
Sparing, restrained.

Let’s Create!

** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, painting, dance move—inspired by the word, parsimonious, where does it take me? Where does it take you? Learn more about “The Word” here.

It was a Tuesday. I remember that clearly for some reason. A rainy day outside—or that might be something I made up to embellish the story—the weather isn’t relevant at all, though. Anyway, I just got home from school, and my dad was home, waiting to greet me as always.

We hugged, I put my backpack down, and then immediately went into it.

Tags lessons, teacher

Blog

Are Ideas Worth Sharing?

(5-minute read)

The obvious answer we all want to say is, “Yes. Absolutely!” but there’s something to explore here as I recently discovered in myself a built-in hesitation, if not an outright fear, to do so. Frankly, I used to be the opposite! Proud to share my ideas with the world, maybe even too eager to do so.

Now, there’s a reservation in me. What happened? I asked myself. Then, I chose to dive into this fear, to uncover it, shine a light on it, and find out how to remove it. Because ultimately, I think ideas ARE worth sharing, even that they need to be shared, so we can learn, understand, and grow individually and collectively. I am a teacher, after all!

Tags fear, perspective

The Word

Stridor

[ STRY-duhr ]

Noun

A harsh, grating or creaking sound.

Let’s Create!

** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, painting, dance move—inspired by the word, stridor, where does it take me? Where does it take you? Learn more about “The Word” here.

The noise came from somewhere beneath her feet, vibrating the floorboards slightly, so she felt the sound as well. Lara turned to her boyfriend, and his face echoed the answer to the question in hers. He heard it too.

“What was that?” she asked.

Tags twist

The Word

Rhathymia

[ ruh-thahy-mee-uh ]

Noun

Carefree behavior; light-heartedness

Let’s Create!

** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, painting, dance move—inspired by the word, rhathymia, where does it take me? Where does it take you? Learn more about “The Word” here.

He whistled a song of his own making, improvising the next notes one after the other. His foot tapped to a rhythm of his own design, steady and slow. Heartbeats matched the taps of his foot, and his breath was like ocean waves—the kind that lulled you to sleep.

Tags mindset

The Word

Farrago

[ fuh-RAH-goh ]

Noun

A confused mixture: hodgepodge.

Let’s Create!

** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, painting, dance move—inspired by the word, farrago, where does it take me? Where does it take you? Learn more about “The Word” here.

Ben played the piano keeping his eyes fixed upon the score in front of him. Yet, he wasn’t actually reading the notes. He’d already memorized this piece from playing it over and over again. Ben’s eyes closed to feel the music.

Whack!

Tags teacher