Petalous Blooms with Creative Play
When my finger hit petalous (adj) having petals in my mother-in-law’s Random House Dictionary of American English, I sighed for joy! Bacterium, it was not! Some beautiful petals in my view include my yellow hibiscus and my neighbor’s silky white magnolia. And seasonal chrysanthemums, or mums, are in an array of gorgeous colors including rust, orange, purple, and red. So many petals, so little time to discuss them all.

When Connotation Takes the Lead
When I told my husband my word-a-day was petalous, he thought I said pedal less. I told him that I had thought of the same thing when I first chose the word. Then I began to wonder, if a person pedals less, are they back pedaling, or delaying the outcome of a situation? Would it mean she was coasting on a project if she appeared were pedaling less? I let these ideas circle around in my mind for a while this morning as I wrote in my journal. And then, the message came….
And Now, A Message from Petalous
The message of petalous makes sense to my Type A workaholic self: Stop spinning your wheels! Ideas for projects will continue to bloom as long as you journal daily! As I processed these words, a flash of maidens tossing handfuls of petals before me as I walked on a sunlit lane got the point across – just in case I had any stray doubts about the message delivered to me.
Your Turn
Take out your journal. Draw a flower with five petals. Write something you can immediately see, hear, smell, taste, and touch inside each petal. Now use this word bank and free-write using all of the words in the petals. See what blossoms!
Until tomorrow, here’s to growing your flow,
Marisa Moks-Unger