Living to Tell the Story

Today's lesson is a study on the word overwhelmed.

According to The Free Dictionary the meaning of overwhelmed has basically four meanings and is as follows:

o·ver·whelm

o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms
1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline.
2.
a. To defeat completely and decisively: Our team overwhelmed the visitors by 40 points.
b. To affect deeply in mind or emotion: Despair overwhelmed me.
3. To present with an excessive amount: They overwhelmed us with expensive gifts.
4. To turn over; upset: The small craft was overwhelmed by the enormous waves.

Okay, let's take each of those definitions and apply it to a random person's life, someone, like oh, say, Susanne who blogs at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Yes, the junk in the house has surged over it's barriers and is submerging and engulfing the living areas. Occupants are having to wade through certain areas. The Coast Guard (aka her friend Laura) may have to be called.

2a. Yes, team junk has overwhelmed the unsuspecting Susanne very decisively. Can she rally for the next meeting with Team Junk? Can she raise the Purge, Sort, Organize battle cry? Or is she overwhelmed to the point of utter defeat? Stay tuned to this channel.

2b. Oh yes, how is it that the more overwhelmed Susanne feels the less she is motivated to get to what needs to be done and then the more frustrated she is that everything is getting out of hand. Has despair overwhelmed her? Well not yet, but assorted games, craft supplies, and various and sundry children's items have. Can she fight past the frustration and loss of motivation? Well, put it this way. She must. No options.

3. Yes, Susanne definitely has been presented with an excessive amount. An excessive amount of daughter #1's "stuff" she did not take with her when she moved to school, and excessive amount of children's craft paraphenelia that seems to have erupted in the craft room, and an excessive amount of "What the heck are we hanging onto this for?" kinds of things in the storage room.

4. To turn over? Well she feels like turning over in her bed and covering her head. Does that count towards the definition?

As we can see, the definition of overwhelmed has been applied toward Susanne of Living to Tell the Story with some surprising results. The culprit seems to be the craft and storage rooms. But we know with some encouragement and tips she can do it! So go for it. Encourage away in the comments. Perhaps she can wade in and at least make a dent in it today! And once she gets the ball rolling, who knows what great things can happen? Go, Susanne, Go!

P.S. Don't forget you are all welcome to join in on Friday's Fave Five at Susanne's Living to Tell the Story. Which would be right here. Tomorrow. Tell us your Favorite Five things from your week. See what makes Susanne's list. Will there be something from the craft or storage room? I guess we'll find out tomorrow!