I wanted to link together the month of July and the month of January with the word Juvenation. There was something about three words beginning with the letter J which I found attractive and appealing, and wanted to share it with you. (J, J & J)
July is a special month for me. It is my birth month. Although I do not celebrate my birthday, July is the beginning of the year for me, nutritionally that is. The beginning of the year, as a way of measuring what I’ve accomplished in healthy living, and as I set nutritional goals I want to focus on the next few months.
January is a significant month, too, for many because it is the first month of a new year and people usually set yearly goals and intentions. In my case, I take an inventory of the previous 12 months - not necessarily nutritionally - but in the areas of business, personal relationships, family, finances, and spirituality, and come up with an improved plan for the new year.
Both January and July begin with the letter J.
I went down a rabbit hole in search for more information on the third letter J - “Juvenation” because I wanted to link July, January, and "Juvenation" in some way, as I’ve already mentioned. (J, J, & J).
I was surprised when I typed in “Juvenation” and the word “Rejuvenation” appeared instead! That’s because "Juvenation" is NOT a word in the English dictionary.
I was stunned! Really! I did not know THAT! I did not know the word "Juvenation" was not an English language word. It sounds SO legitimate, don't you think? My thinking was that if the word rejuvenation exists, it must come from juvenation! Right? WRONG! And the dictionary proved it! I’d be lying if I said I was not disappointed.
I realize the importance of doing the research before putting something out in writing, and I make sure to do that. Doing the research is an indispensable part of communicating ideas. Although doing the research almost extinguished my idea of linking the three J’s, I don’t give up easily as you will see at the end of this blog.
As a nutrition coach I am interested in youthfulness, (I should call myself a Nutritional Youth Coach. Ha, ha, ha, ha!. I make myself laugh sometimes times!) As I was saying . . . as a nutrition coach I concentrate on healthy living, anti-aging, and nutrient density.
Wellbeing, Prevention, and Longevity along with its cousin Rejuvenation, are some of my favorite, favorite healthy living words. As a matter of fact, I include them in one of my Healthy Living poems (I Am A Pusher - I Am A Health Pusher) because they convey so much meaning.
Another reason the word “Juvenation” interests me, is that having learned three languages and wanting to have studied linguistics many, many years ago; words, and their roots, along with its grammar and things of that linguistic nature, absolutely fascinate me.
The five Romance languages are Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, and Romanian. In four of these languages, the word “Youth” is similar, with only a few minor variations.
For example, in Spanish the word for “youth” is Juventud. (the letter J has the h sound in English)
In Italian, the word for “youth” is Giovane (“G” having the same sound as the English letter G)
But in French, the word is Jeunesse ( it has the English G sound as well, but softer, finer).
And in Portuguese, it’s Juventude (also with a softer/finer English G sound).
Can you see the similarities? I’m not crazy then to have thought "Juvenation" was a legitimate English-language word! Right? There, I rest my case!!!
Yes, I was a little bummed out at the beginning of this whole discovery. But, as I said before, I don’t give up easily, remember? So, I’ve decided to make up a new word and add my own meaning. Are you ready for it? Here it is.
Juvenation: (joo - vuh - na - shun), n. 1. youthfulness; 2. of, or having to do with being or feeling young, vibrant, vigorous, and beautiful.
(The Marta - Webster's Dictionary - Revised July, 2022)
JULY
JANUARY
JUVENATION
You can LISTEN HERE