A CONNECTION WITH CONNECTIONS

Jenny introduced us three boys to the New York Times word game app. Often while standing in line, she would play the Wordle, Spelling Bee and other word games with us. Sometimes she'd play just so she could get Dylan to put his head next to hers. One NYT word game, Connections, drew me and Dylan close together. Through Connections, Dylan and I would talk every day during that very difficult first year the boys were in college.

Quick summary of Connections: From a group of 16 words, form four groups of four words where those four words have something in common with each other. You can miss up to three times and still keep playing. One clue is the difficulty of each category. From easiest to hardest: yellow, green, blue and purple.

Today, Jenny's name came up in Connections and, of course, I feel compelled to write about it. I don't want to make something out of nothing, but I couldn't help but feel that each category today applied to her. One category of words was "Rectangular Prisms" ("Brick", "Fish Tank", "Microwave" and "Shoebox"). Even during our first date, Jenny talked about our common experiences as mechanical engineering majors. Indeed, she used her knowledge of engineering, and STEM in general, throughout her career as a patent attorney. As far as I know, rectangular prisms did not play a significant role in her professional career. However, I can say with certainty she needed to know about them and analyze them backwards and forwards as a mechanical engineering major.

The next category of words is "Enthusiasm" ("Gusto", "Passion", "Relish" and "Zest"). If there's one aspect of Jenny that I tried to make clear in this blog, it's Jenny's enthusiasm: Her passion for music, cooking, plants, friendships, work, travel and, above everything else, her two boys.

Dylan with the US quarters collection he started with Jenny. Photo was taken in June 2024.

The category that actually contained Jenny's name today is "Rhyme with US coins" ("Jenny", "Lime", "Mortar", "Pickle"). As a bonding activity with Dylan, Jenny collected quarters featuring each of the 50 states. She was relentless. Whenever she came across a quarter, she would check to see if she discovered a new state. Dylan treasures the collection to this day. It is still a work in progress in fact.

The last category is "'Many' in different languages" ("Beaucoup", "Molto", "Mucho", "Multi") . Doesn't that describe Jenny, though? Time, love, supportive words, warm thoughts, selfless actions, generous gifts...Those are Jenny's languages. Each of them showing her passion and love for others. Each of them in abundance.

Think about it. Jenny gets us to use an app on a daily basis. We keep using it with a passion after she physically left us. Then her name appears on that very app. (And, it's very unusual for a name--any name--to appear.) I can't help but think it's her way of saying "hello". My response? "Hey, Cutie. Nice to hear from you. Things are fine here. I love you."