How did I pull this off?

 Wordle 314 1/6

This happened just after midnight on Friday, April 29th.  How did it happen?  Let's be honest, it was mostly dumb luck.  Mostly.  It will most likely NEVER happen again.  (Though a girl can dream.)

I jumped on the Wordle bandwagon LONG after most people did.  My social media feeds were full of people showing their results and I didn't get it.  Eventually (after it became part of the NY Times empire), I gave it a try and have been attempting it daily.  For the most part I am able to get the answer on the 4th or 5th try.  There was one (sad) day where I didn't get it at all. (Boy was I upset about that!).  

The fact that I managed to nail this on the first try is pretty amazing, but I do (try to) have a strategy when I approach the puzzle.  Usually (unless I'm feeling feisty) my first word has a combination of some of the most commonly used letter.  (Often called the "Wheel of Fortune" approach.)  So my first word usually has an "s" and a "t" in it.  "E" is the most common vowel, followed by "a."  Once I see which (if any) of those letters are in play, I continue on using letters that are most frequently found in words.  Until I've whittled it down, I'm not putting in a "y" or a "j" and letters like "x" and "z" are not on my radar.  (Which is why it took me 6 tries till I finally got "zesty" this week.  I was so SURE it was "testy."  I was so wrong!)

Wordle has no time limit, so I take my time.  I usually start out first thing in the morning, but if I'm on the third guess and I've got no clue as to where to go, I will take a time out.  I'll get coffee (or more coffee) and I'll come back to it later.  Often when I am away doing something else a word will suddenly come to me and I will have to "hold" it in my brain until I can get back to my computer and see if I'm right.  (Majority of time this works.)

Which also brings me to WHERE I do Wordle.  I cannot do it on my phone.  I am most comfortable typing on my computer, but in a pinch I will do it on my tablet.  I work better (my brain works better) when I can "play" with the letters on a big screen.  I put letters in crazy places and make nonsense words to try and get to an answer.  It's how my brain engages, and being "older" I like to see those bigger letters on screen.

With all that said, I happened to be up late last night.  (A true rarity for me.)  I had been out to a meeting and while I was tired, I wasn't sleepy.  I was still wound up from the evening; my mind still focused on events that had transpired.  So, even though I was in bed, I reached over for my tablet to give Wordle a try.

Using the "Wheel of Fortune" strategy and my frame of mind after three hours of frustration, I channeled my inner Oscar (the Grouch) and came up with the word "trash."  I was totally shocked when every single letter came up green.  I did it on my first go.  Perhaps this was the universe giving back to me after a particularly stressful day (actually can we make that week or even weeks?)  Thank you universe!

And just so you know, the universe just gave me a one shot deal.  Today it took me 3 tries to get the answer.  (And I thought today was pretty hard!) But I won't give up...maybe someday lightening will strike twice!