“Y” is for “Yet”
This blog is part of a very special series created and written by Phyllis Knox, “Alphabetic Musings”, whereby she chooses a word starting with a particular letter from the alphabet and injects it with her storytelling magic.
YET: Google from Oxford Languages explains this word as:
1. Up until the present or a specified or implied time; by now or then. Ex. “I haven’t told anyone yet.”
2. Still; even (used to emphasize increase or repetition). Ex. “Snow, snow, and yet more snow!”
3. As a conjunction, for emphasis; but at the same time or nevertheless. Ex. “The path was dark, yet I slowly found my way.”
I am well aware that there are many things that I haven’t done yet, places I haven’t seen yet and people I haven’t met yet. Yet, I have made plans that have yet to realized. Yet, I dream and I continue on my merry way hoping that the end is not yet near! Here is a list of places I have always wanted to visit, but - alas - haven’t been to yet.
1. Australia – The continent “Down Under”, that faraway land of kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, and wombats. I have not yet seen the landmarks of Sydney: the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, the Royal Botanical Garden, Taronga Zoo, or Kings Park. Nor have I visited the Royal Botanic Gardens in Victoria and Melbourne, the Australian War Museum, Darling Harbour, Great Ocean Road, Kangaroo Island, Kakadu National Park, the Three Sisters Walk…the list goes on and on. Australia has so much to offer. Yet, part of me knows that chances are, should I find my way there, I would most likely spend my time at the beaches of the South Bank Parklands, the Twelve Apostles and Bondi. Yet, I would be in Australia, my dream come true!
2. The Republic of Ireland – The land of my ancestors. Wikipedia describes the geography of this island as “…separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St. George’s Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third largest in Europe, and the twentieth largest in the world”. The “Emerald Island” is indeed beautiful, yet even with my Irish ambitions and with my genetic makeup, I have not yet seen any of its beauty first-hand, with only pictures as proof. Throughout my life, I have been enthralled by Ireland’s music, dance and poetry. The language – especially its accents – are so charming. I can feel its life in my very soul. Yet, an ocean continues to separate me from its shores, the ones my great grandparents left to come here. I can only imagine the pain they felt as they knew they never would see their country of origin ever again. Although, Ireland holds a special place in my heart, Canada is where I belong. I am ever thankful to those who left their homeland for this mysterious “land across the sea”.
Now, here is a list of people I have not yet met, yet I hope to meet one day:
1. Charles III, King of England (see ‘P’ is for “Prince”)
2. Barack Obama
3. Ryan Gosling, the Canadian, EH!
4. J. K. Rowling, I so love her books!
5. Michael J. Fox
In finishing, here is my final “yet” list, the only-in-my-wildest-dreams-come-true list of things I haven’t done…yet:
1. Tried a skateboard
2. Driven a motorcycle
3. Tasted mussels
4. Taken a cruise along the Mediterranean
5. Heard the sounds of the bagpipes in-person
6. Learned to speak Italian
7. Climbed Mount Everest
8. Gone deep-sea diving
9. Touched an elephant
10. Seen a live show in Vegas
11. Smelled the salt water air off the shores of Newfoundland
I may never experience the many of the wonders of this world, meet certain people of renown, or climb Everest, yet I do so in my dreams, and that is something, EH?
Phyllis
