Defining Contretemps

 

contretemps -noun - an unexpected or unfortunate occurrence or a minor dispute (Google)

Contretemps is a French word meaning "against time." Which clearly makes sense given the initial definition. Surely, anything unexpected conflicts with time or what is expected within it. But let's look at the second definition for a second. According to it, contretemps would point to a minor altercation as opposed a major one, meaning a spat rather than a full-on feud. Yet is it possible that a situation could involve both definitions of the word? Definitely. 

Here's proof: My sister, who most likely will read this blog sometime today, is the proud owner of an island in the St. Lawrence. Don't picture Maui; think Walden Pond, only more remote and more untamed. She and her son were in the process of allowing the natural environment to take control in order to sustain wildlife, letting things be while cultivating saplings to replace trees that had been lost during the construction of their island home as well as a half century of storms. 

During the month of August, my sister decided to lease the house to relatives of a neighboring island family, yet she had neglected to stipulate in the lease agreement that alternations to the property are prohibited. Well, to make a somewhat long story short, the lessees took it upon themselves to "cut the lawn," decimating all of my sister's efforts to ensure Nature's progress. Apparently, when my sister beheld the devastation, she screamed–her cry which resounded off of the rocks could be heard for miles. Was this an unexpected or unfortunate occurrence? It was both. Did it turn into a minor dispute? I'd say so. The tenants will be paying to replace the saplings. As for the grass? She'll just have to wait until it grows back. 

As life is composed of an unpredictable balance of good and evil, contretemps will surely crop up but grow back again and again like hewed crops, grass, or saplings. In the case of either definition or both, you have to "keep calm and carry on." Patience, after all, is a virtue. 

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