Sunday, June 14, 2015

The opposite of schadenfreude




When the kids were young, we played 'opposites'. I felt it developed their vocabulary and their reasoning skills. Recently I read of what was the opposite of schadenfreude (joy in the sorrows of others). Gluckschmerz was proposed roughly meaning pain in hearing the good luck of others. To me, this is not the opposite, just the extension of selfishness feelings. I propose 'naches' which is joy in seeing your children and grandchildren happy. True, this is a Yiddish word, not German (though I think the portmanteaus are real similar in Yiddish). When I had Shanna, I  received lots of cards from Steve's relatives wishing me 'naches' which I first thought was 'nachos'. Puzzled, I looked it up (Steve was not much help). Yes, it makes sense. It does make me happy seeing my grandchildren laugh at silly things.

A nibble. At the last minutes of the Open House yesterday mainly attended by curious neighbors, a woman rushed in wondering if we were still accepting offers. Hells yes. Her realtor is supposed to get in touch with us soon. We shall see.


It is pouring rain and thundering. I am supposed to be out there now on my long, trafficless bike ride. This mess wasn't supposed to start until 10 am giving me a 3.5 hour window for a 2 hour ride but the weather people have been especially wrong this past week.

1 comment:

Elephant's Child said...

Fingers crossed that the nibble becomes a bite.
And our weather boffins frequently lie like pigs in mud...

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