Before it turned chilly, I power-washed a couple years of accumulated grime and algae from the siding of our house, drive, and landscaping blocks. It amounted to long hours of standing, aiming the wand, thinking and listening.

The word “rejuvenate” looped in my mind every day I worked.

I heard it as a positive, not from a tone of admonition, as in “How did you let that grime get there?”, or “This is the natural consequence of aging and time.”

No, the word “rejuvenate” was enveloped in a whisper of hope and promise, as in “Do you expect this newness of me?”, or “I am reminding you to look forward to becoming ‘like new; that’s what I do because that’s who I am.”

Rejuvenate. A verb (used with object),re·ju·ve·nat·ed,re·ju·ve·nat·ing.

To make young again; restore to youthful vigor, appearance, etc.:That vacation has certainly rejuvenated him.to restore to a former state; make…