Know Thy Wordle

I learned about the viral word game, Wordle, from my fellow wordie, Linda.

“You have to play,” she said, her face lighting up. “Everybody’s doing it.”

You know how your parents always told you, if everybody’s doing it, it doesn’t mean you should. 

However, my feeling is, if everyone’s doing it, it’s probably pretty great.

(Except for drugs. Don’t do drugs.)

Addiction set in on Day 3, as I lay nestled snug in my bed, while visions of 5-letter words danced in my head.

The next morning, I woke with a smile on my face.

“Wordle,” I whispered.

It was like being in love.

But I reminded myself, Priorities.

It’s God, Family, Friends, then Wordle.

So instead of playing Wordle first thing, I started the day off with prayer.

I prayed for a good Wordle score.

That day I figured out the word in four rounds.

Splendid!

The next day it was three.

Impressive!

Based on how many rounds it takes you, Wordle gives you a compliment.

When I solved it in two rounds, Wordle said, You must be in Mensa!

Or something like that.

The best part about Wordle is that it was designed so that you only play once a day.

The worst part about Wordle is that it was designed so that you only play once a day.

But that didn’t stop me from thinking about Wordle all day long.

Like when my friend, Brooke, told me how she fell off a horse and broke her ankle, I felt really bad for her.

But I also thought, H-O-R-S-E.

And B-R-O-K-E.

A-N-K-L-E could also work.

What was Brooke babbling about?

It may have seemed like I didn’t have my priorities straight (God, Family, Wordle, Friends), but trust me, I did.

Sure, I was up Wordling before the crack of dawn, but hey, The early bird catches the Wordle.

Except last Friday, when I overslept and didn’t get to finish Wordle before work. It wasn’t until lunch that I finally figured out that the word was vivid.

Two v’s in one word!

I was livid about Vivid.

Also, it took me 5 rounds, and Wordle’s comment to me was, Great.

But not in a “Tony the Tiger” way.

It was a sarcastic “great” with undercurrents of disappointment.

But I had bigger problems.

My husband, Steve, was now playing Wordle and he was becoming as C-R-A-Z-Y as me.

Didn’t he know this house was only big enough for one Compulsive/Obsessive Wordle Wizard?

It was the first thing either of us did in the morning.

Pleasantries such as, “Good Morning,” had now been replaced with one of us holding up the number of fingers it took us to complete Wordle.

Yesterday, I walked into Steve’s office, and like some nerdy gangster, he flashed me three fingers.

Fifteen minutes later, he found me at the kitchen table yelling into my phone, “THIS ISN’T EVEN A WORD!”

He smiled smugly.

I was already on my fourth round and I was definitely Wordled. 

(Wordled: When one is worried about Wordle.)

After unsuccessfully guessing P-U-R-E-E on my fifth round, I finally entered the correct word on my sixth and final round.

What the fork is a Rupee?

“Rupee is currency, commonly used in India,” Steve explained.

“Use it in a sentence,” I said.

“When I go to India, I take my rupee,” Steve said.

I’m losing to this guy?

But the good news was, tomorrow is a new day!

Another opportunity to be a Wordle Whiz!

And the even better news was that my priorities were still intact.

God, Wordle, Family, Friends.

And no, Wordle will not be replacing God.

Who do you think invented Wordle?

“And on the eighth day, God created Wordle.”

Hallelujah!

Just no more rupees.

Artist Credit: My extremely talented niece, Ruthie Jo Florey. Check out her work on Instagram at ruthie_jo_art