N is for Nuts

The most obvious definition of “nuts” is that food item we like in our brownies and granola. Not to mention peanut brittle. You know, one of the super foods science is now promoting.

But today I’m more interested in definition #2, where “nuts” = “crazy.”

There are all too many crazy days when I wonder if I’ll get through. You know the kind, where you feel like the proverbial camel who can’t handle one more straw. Somehow I survive, but I’m usually not quite sure how. A gallon of coffee? Tunnel vision? Music played at a level only dogs can hear? Maybe I’m just a little off-center myself, which would explain how I can deal with those nutty days.

While it seems to be a survival skill, I don’t like thinking of myself as crazy. If it’s necessary to put a label on me, I prefer the phrase “charmingly eccentric.” That creates an image of a woman wearing purple with lots of jewelry, waving at everyone she sees, stopping random people on the street for a chat. She’s always smiling, so people don’t mind her chatting to them as if they were old friends. When she sits down on the bench at the bus stop, she pulls a knitting project out of her huge tapestry bag and begins knitting. Like Penelope’s weaving in Homer’s Odyssey, the project never seems to be finished. After a while, she puts the project away and strolls off. She never gets on the bus. ;-)

Now you understand how I get through those tough days. So the next time you see me doing something strange, please don’t call me “nuts,” “crazy,” “insane,” or rotate your index finger next to your ear. Just smile gently, shake your head and say, “There goes Liz. She’s charmingly eccentric.”