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wotd: popinjay

popinjay \POP-in-jay\, noun:
1. A vain and talkative person.
When I started teaching preschool I discovered a talent for reading aloud to children and a predilection toward performance, leading to a subsequent discovery of delight in reading aloud in church as Lector. I can only express my gratitude to God for these talents, for I believe they were given me by Him. At the same time, I'm graced with paranoid humility. Whenever I'm complimented on my reading, I smile and quietly say "thank you" lest I be perceived a popinjay. In conversation in general I keep my remarks brief and innocuous, unless I'm with people I know and trust. It seems incongruous to me that I'm unafraid to address an entire congregation but terrified to express an opinion.

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