Always and ForNever!

I just despise the words "always" and "never."

Actually, I should clarify...I hate the constant MISUSE of the words "always" and "never."

It usually goes something like this:

"You ALWAYS forget to take out the trash!"

"I can NEVER find my car keys!"

Now, if the person in question, has, without a doubt, ALWAYS forgotten to take out the trash, then I have no problem with the usage.

al·ways
[awl-weyz, -weez] –adverb
1. every time; on every occasion; without exception

nev·er
[nev-er] –adverb
1. not ever; at no time

But, folks rarely use the words as intended. And that's what makes me nuts.

We have somehow begun using "always" and "never" to mean "sometimes."

Now clearly, "sometimes" does not have the drama quotient of "always" or "never" -- consider how, well DULL and wishy washy the following phrases now sound:

"You sometimes forget to take out the trash."

"I sometimes can't find my car keys."

And while I'm on a roll...I'd also like to take back the word "awesome."

It makes me slightly crazy to hear people using the word "awesome" to describe things that are, well, clearly less than awesome:

"Thank you so much for your help -- that was awesome!"

Now, if the "help" provided was truly earth-shattering, life-affirming or otherwise inspiring of 'awe', I have no issues.

But let's be truthful here -- the Grand Canyon is awesome. The miracle of birth is awesome.

Getting someone a cup of coffee? A very nice thing to do, but, let's face it -- NOT awesome.

Perhaps because there are so few truly awesome moments in life, we feel the need to elevate the 'nice but ordinary?'

Oh well...I would NEVER do that -- I guess because I'm ALWAYS right!

(tee hee)