Why "forty-leven"?

This summer my family had a mini-reunion at my parents' old farm in Otter Tail County. We pitched tents and set up campers and made an enjoyable weekend of it. While sitting around shooting the breeze (as we do) and, perhaps, imbibing in a beverage or two (as we do), we somehow got onto the subject of old expressions you never hear anymore. The very first word that came to my mind was "forty-leven."

It was an expression of my mother's and I've never heard anyone else say it but her. Believe it or not, it really is a word, recognized by Merriam-Webster, but even that smorgasbord of speech admits it is a word so rarely used that it can only be found in the unabridged version of its publication.

Mom always used the expression to describe a large amount of something -- too many or too much to be counted. As in, "Sam, I told you forty-leven times to brush your teeth!" Do you know how many times I heard that in my first 18 years? About forty-leven. 

While I don't really use the word myself, I can certainly apply it to my world. I tell my son forty-leven times a day to get off his Xbox. We go through forty-leven gallons of gas Ubering my daughter to her school functions. When I did my colonoscopy prep, I went through forty-leven rolls of toilet paper. 

Actually, the more you use the word, the more you like it.

Forty-leven means much, a lot and many.

So why do I call my new, revamped site "forty-leven.com"? 

First, it reminds me of my parents. That simple little word transports me to a more innocent time. It takes me back to childhood, to happiness and the bright-eyed excitement for the future. I can't say I'm overly excited about the future these days; God knows what's around the corner, but we all have to find a little good in what is right here, right now.

Second, my goal is to write about anything that comes to mind. Just stuff. Deep thoughts and shallow thoughts. Daily observations and nightly reflections. Funny stuff and sad stuff.

Life stuff.

There's forty-leven things to write about. And I intend to address them all.