For about two years now, I've been a subscriber to the
Merriam-Webster "Word of the Day." It's a great service...each day I get an email with a new word and its definition. Sometimes it's a totally unknown word, sometimes it's an antiquated expression that really needs to be used more often, sometimes it's just a classic word I've forgotten about that makes me smile...kind of like finding a photo of a family vacation from 1979 or reminiscing about the night Sue Neill's dress matched the pool table at Zahasky's. And occasionally, Merriam Webster sends me a word that eerily reflects my life.
Today I received this:
The Word of the Day for June 9 is: emigrate • \EM-uh-grayt\  • verb
: to leave one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere Example sentence:
O.E. Rolvaag emigrated from Norway to the U.S. in 1896 and subsequently wrote Giants in the Earth and other books about Norwegians who settled in the American prairies. Did you know?
"Migrate," "emigrate," and "immigrate" are all about being on the move. All those terms come from the Latin word "migrare," which means "to move from one place to another." "Emigrate" and "immigrate" sound alike, and it is true that both involve leaving one location and entering another. The subtle difference between them lies in point of view: "emigrate" stresses leaving the original place, while "immigrate" focuses on entering the new one. You won't have trouble keeping them straight if you remember that the prefix "e-" means "away," as in "eject," and the prefix "im-" or "in-" means "into," as in "inject."
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Even odder than the fact that they referenced Rolvaag in the usage example, this email came while I was down in HR signing a contract to remain in the UK indefinitely. In fact, as of Monday I no longer work for BI in the US. I work for BI UK, I get paid in £'s, and a return to the states will require a job hunt.
I suppose "emigrate" is a little strong...I'm not going to get citizenship, I'm just here working. But for the next few years, this is now home.
So the good news is that if you've had to postpone your trip to England (or want to come again soon,) your window of opportunity has widened. And if you're on the continent and want to have dinner, I can meet you there on the weekend.
The bad news is that some of you think I've already been gone too long. I miss you, too, but this is the right thing to do. I'll be back eventually, but it's going to be a bit longer.
And the best part...Mindy, the unabashed liberal, becomes a full-blown participant of "socialized medicine" as of Monday at 12:01 AM. Is that a dream come true or what? =)
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