I think being an adult is mostly about the duality of time. Simultaneously you’re slogging through the minutia of daily life — getting the kids fed, going to work, paying bills — and watching as events whirl past in a dizzying frenzy — wasn’t it just Christmas? How have I not seen our friends since the Inauguration?

This episode of Three Beautiful Things has been brought to you by Philosophy, The Study of Life™:

1. As I get dressed this morning, I am reminded of a comment by my previous boss. A fan of reality tv shows, she and some other coworkers mused that I would make a great contestant on one of those what-not-to-wear shows because I would tell the host where to get off. Today’s unique outfit: my old brown plaid skirt, a yellow pullover, orange socks, and my pink roll-brim hat.

2. The flower man added a number of stems of freesia to the bouquet I made on Sunday. “They smell wonderful. I hope you won’t mind if I make you take home a few more stems.” They opened last night and sniffing them takes you to an old-fashioned dance, set by the water, à la Houseboat.

3. Rudi and I were watching the news when the reporter mentioned that police were canvassing an area. As politicos, we were more used to the verb being used in a sense of door-knocking for the purpose of vote getting. Interested in the word, we turned out our dictionaries — his online and my old hard-cover — seeking its origins.

While I do not dispute the perks of having a dictionary always at your fingertips, there’s something about having one where seeking one word can lead you to a nosegay of unrelated ones. In addition to learning more about “canvass,” we also gleaned capapie, captious, and carrefour from my trip into the “c” tab.