ex·pec·ta·tion - (ekspekˈtāSH(ə)n/)
noun

1. a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.
2. a belief that someone will or should achieve something.
3. one's prospects of inheritance.
4. Mathematics—another term for expected value (a predicted value of a variable, calculated as the sum of all possible values each multiplied by the probability of its occurrence.)

We deal with expectations every day.

We expect to wake every morning, tackle our to-do lists, get our kids to school, go to our jobs, deal with co-workers and managers, execute our plans, make progress on our projects, etc.

We also deal with unexpected things—circumstances that appear in the form of unexpected surprises; you find money in the laundry, you finally land that account with a certain client, a friend or family member announces they are getting married or are having a baby, you land that new job and have to relocate to a new...

October is the month when we officially recognize the change of seasons.

Pumpkin spice becomes the assumed signature autumn flavor and deciduous trees begin their annual shedding of leaves. Temps begin to fall and the air takes on a certain fragrant crispness.

The season of plaid flannel shirts, boots, scarves, and sweaters returns and we find ourselves ready to nestle by the fireplace with a good book and a warm beverage.

The great poets captured the temperate season's glory in these classic selections:

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, 
   Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; 
Conspiring with him how to load and bless 
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; 
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees, 
   And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; . . ."
(continue reading To Autumn by John Keats) 

"Know'st thou not at the fall of the leaf 
How the heart feels a...

Adjective

The pluperfect (or plusquamperfect) is a type of verb form, generally treated as one of the tenses in certain languages, used to refer to an action at a time earlier than a time in the past already referred to. Examples in English are: "we had arrived"; "they had written".

The word derives from the Latin plus quam perfectum, "more than perfect". The word "perfect" in this sense means "completed"; it contrasts with the "imperfect", which denotes uncompleted actions or states.

In English grammar, the equivalent of the pluperfect (a form such as "had written") is now often called the past perfect, since it combines past tense with perfect aspect. (The same term is sometimes used in relation to the grammar of other languages.)

English also has a past perfect progressive (or past perfect continuous) form: "had been writing". Examples of the English pluperfect (past perfect) are found in the...

I remember when I started learning how to use the software platform that creates and maintains my website. One of the first things I had to do was go through what they called building blocks—the basic elements and functions of the software platform. In order to learn the more complex features of my site and how I could utilize them, I had to understand the building blocks. They were vital to the development, creation, and function of my website.

The English language works the same way. There are several programs, courses, methods, and formulas to learn the English language. However, if you do not understand the building blocks, the basic elements and functions of the English language, you will have a difficult time USING the language, both in spoken and written form.

The Story of English is the title of an Emmy Award-winning nine-part television series, and companion book, both produced in 1986, detailing the development of the English...

MOMMY, I WANT IT NOW!!!

GIVE IT TO ME! THAT'S MINE!

SHE'S LYING! SHE DID IT FIRST!

Have you ever experienced toddler meltdown? You know, the moment when your toddler (or one you are observing) wants what they want and if they don't get it, all hell breaks loose. And after yelling at you, throwing tantrums, emotional tirades that swing from angry to hysterical, and endless wailing, we give in.

Because we can't take it anymore.

In light of our recent political antics, I was reminded of a time when this happened in the past with some really bad consequences:

“Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them. So, Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king. He said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they...