My father-in-law hated the word WOW! Every time he heard the expression he would go into a rant about the poor use of the English language and how so many people could just not express themselves properly. However, there are times when we are so overwhelmed by emotion that words cannot express how we feel and the only word we can think of, to express the tumult inside us is wow.
My first experience of this overwhelming emotion was at the birth of each child. For hours I had been overtaken with the most indescribable pain, the word labour is well used for this experience. Then suddenly there is the explosion of the baby screaming it’s way into the chilly world, complaining loudly of the sudden expulsion from it’s cosy home. The newborn is laid across your chest and the enormity of emotions is truly overwhelming.
Ask any woman to come up with one word at this moment. Chances are she can’t. The outpouring of love for this tiny creature is immense, but it is more than that. You have felt this tiny piece of life growing and making itself know to you for many months but the reality of what motherhood involves does not really hit you until that moment when you hold her in your arms. The enormity of the task before you.
You are totally responsible for the welfare of this little one, you know you would kill to defend her and give your own life to protect her, such is the overwhelming emotion of this moment.
Apart from the delivery of four children, I have known several other truly overwhelming experiences.
About twelve years ago Dave and I went on a camera safari to Kenya. We spent two weeks travelling over rough tracks in a Nissan van. The vehicle was built to seat ten but we were lucky enough to only have two other passengers and the guide, for much of the trip. The roof of the vehicle could be raised about two feet so we could stand up and hang our heads out to get really up close views of the animals.
We were able to park within ten feet of a leopard who was lying down but keeping an eye on some small deer. The deer were just a few feet away from the leopard but were munching on leaves and grass quite unconcerned of the fact that one of them could be his dinner. We were close enough to see the texture of the beautiful fur of the big cat, thick and luxurious, the thick tail with a slight movement at the end, indicating that he was not truly resting but just biding his time.
Another wonderfully scary moment was when a heard of about twenty elephants just split apart and walked by both sides of the van. Each of us could have touched one of these enormous beasts, had we put out a hand and we were well aware of the fact that they could have squeezed us and the sardine can we were sitting in, to the size of a flattened car in a junk yard.
However, the truly ‘wow’ moment of the trip was when we were near to a grassy hill and a pride of lions crossed in front of us. Over the hill they came, first a magnificent male followed by his female entourage, behind them came seven young males, not yet wearing the mane of an adult male. Up last, limping along, came an older obviously injured male. Nineteen lions in all, not ten feet in front of us, each one staring straight ahead, intent on where it was going. Each one of us held our breath, desperate not to spoil the moment by talking. What is there to say at a time like that, we were all just overwhelmed with emotion.
The last truly wow moment I experience was several years ago on a cruise ship. We were heading to Australia, a 21 day trip. It was part of Dave’s bucket list to experience an eclipse at sea. The day dawned clear and bright and the eclipse party of about eighty all were up on the top deck, setting up telescopes and cameras on tripods, ready to record the event.
Most of the other passengers were just cruising but had been told of the expected event so, about a half hour before first contact the deck was filled with passengers. The whole event takes over two hours but the exciting part, when the moon completely blocks the sun is just a couple of minutes. By the time that totality of the blackout of the sun, was reached most of the crew had also come on deck.
There are a couple of seconds just before the moon completes it’s coverage of the sun when there is a brilliant flash from one side. This is called the diamond ring effect, as this is exactly what it looks like. Standing there as over four thousand people breathed “WOW” at the same time was a marvellous experience.
It is a silly word. It really means nothing. My father-in-law was right, there are so many words in the English language in which we can express ourselves, but sometimes life can be so overwhelming that all we can manage is ‘WOW’ and, somehow, that says it all.