Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I’M BECOMING MY MOTHER

i-love-lucy

It’s official. I’m becoming my mother.

If you’re a new reader here, you may not have heard about my mother, Lucy. She has been gone now for over five years but remains an ever-present influence on my life. She was quite the character. I guess if I had to pick one story to sum her up it would be this one……and this one. (Yeah, yeah…It’s my blog, I can count as I please.)

Go on, click the links…..You won’t regret it.

I don’t really have a Lucy story for you today. Instead I am confessing that I have become my mother. Allow me to present the evidence:

Lucy was a stickler for proper grammar. And correct spelling. And legible handwriting. I remember walking home from elementary school with a friend on report card day. She told me how happy she was because she got a “C” in Spelling and would finally be ungrounded. I was stunned! I was certain that I would BE grounded if I got a “C” in Spelling.

Until the day she died, Lucy would not let me complete a sentence without correcting my grammar. It drove her crazy to hear people end a sentence with a preposition. And we lived in Indiana! I think it’s an Indiana state law that you have to end a sentence with a preposition at least once a day. “Where’s my coat at?”

Since Lucy is no longer here to correct my grammar, I’ve begun to do it myself. The other day at the grocery I said something to the cashier and didn’t use correct grammar. I admonished myself all the way to the car……OUT LOUD. So now people not only think I’m uneducated but also that I’m a lunatic that holds entire conversations with herself. *sigh*

Daughter #1 asked me to proof a letter she was sending the other day. After giving her my corrections, she asked, “Do you correct other blogger’s grammar in your head as you read?” I made a face and said a firm, “NO! Of course not!” She continued to stare at me with raised eyebrows………….and I crumbled.

“It’s not like I leave comments with corrections or anything. I just notice.” She nodded with the satisfaction of “I knew it!”

I can't help myself. I've been conditioned all my life. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not an English expert. You won’t always see proper grammar and spelling here. Sometimes, it is because I’m feeling like a rebel and sometimes it’s because I just missed it and sometimes, despite Lucy's efforts, I just don't know any better. I will tell you that after more than a year of blogging, I’ve stopped going back and reading and re-reading my own posts 27 times a day, editing as I go. I still probably read what I’ve written no less than five times before I publish. I know…it’s an illness. Nevertheless Lucy would be proud as long as I don’t end my sentence with a preposition.

Now, where’s my sweater at? It’s getting chilly. *wink*




Hugs,
Smart Mouth Broad

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, gosh, my pet peeve is misuse of homonyms. To, Too, Two. Drives me a bit bonkers. I'm terrible with punctuation and I suck at even remembering what prepositions and dangling prepositions are. I do try to at least use a noun and a verb in every sentence though.. LOL

Di

Mike said...

Don't ever stop leaving random comments on my site! Leave all that you want. The one thing that I hate is when someone says, "He corrected hisself" I here hisself constantly!!!!!! If you Ax me, it's a dern shame! LOL!

♥ Braja said...

I don't know, maybe you just like things to be spelt rite?? Jeez....

Liz Mays said...

It's a midwest thing, huh? I end my sentences with prepositions all the time! I don't even try to fight the urge.

You really should go back to your roots and do the same. It's fun!

Pseudo said...

Theirs always the problem of us smartie pants juz knowing how two do stuffs write...

Love ya SMB ; - )

Mrsupole said...

Yupp, I to read my posts to fix thm up. Knot that I hav ben doin ny posts cince mi brake begun. And I tri not two end centcences with those nasti preps bcoz it is badd too. But thein agin I rarli mak spelin errers. Wel, I hav ben doin a few cince doc gav mi tose pane pils too tache. Ennglis is mi fav subjext to. Nd I got A's n spelin nd ennglis win I wuz n schol. Cee I kan steele spel and rite reel welle. R elss I got gronndid to. Wiche I nvir dead. Okai, mebee wonse I dead.

God bless.

cheatymoon said...

I think I've recovered from the copy editing phase of my life (which was my - cough - career before I became a teacher.)

So glad you are back to blogging, SMB. Just wanted to say that. xoxo

Maureen@IslandRoar said...

There are a lot worse habits. Lucy would be proud!

Cristin said...

I used to more of a grammar snob than I am now...I've mellowed some (but seriously, feel free to take a red pen to my blog any day, I can take it).

Spelling errors make me cringe though. When I see them at work in nurse's notes I feel embarassed for the writer, and if I'm with the right person, I'll point it out and we'll make fun of them.

The Peach Tart said...

I'm turning into my mother too, something I promised never to do.

Jan said...

After reading about your mother, I can't imagine a nicer person for you to turn in...to.

*sigh*

I hate to think how crazy you are when you leave my blog.

Unknown said...

You are so lucky to have had Lucy. When my parents owned a restaurant wayyyy back, I saw a sign mom had put up on the wall in the kitchen which said: "Always be tackful." I was so embarrassed. She left school in the 9th grade, but WTF, I knew how to spell tactful in the 9th grade for God's sake!

Linda said...

First- I've been meaning to tell you, I love your new header.
Second- If is stop to edit my writing I'll forget what the hell I'm talking about.
Third-I'm goin to the sto, wanna come with?

Anonymous said...

Turning into your mother is a good thing! At least that's what I tell myself as I become more and more like Mom every day. Sometimes my husband will call me "Judy" trying to be funny. I take that as a complement!!!!

And...I'm sure you're having a field day at my blog...Get out your RED PEN!!!!!! :)

midlife slices said...

I'm betting you get to mutter lots of corrections as you read my site.....WHEN I post. Oh well, some of us just have to give the rest of you something to stew about so we just go ahead and do "it". :)
HUGS

Anonymous said...

yup... LOL .. i catch myself saying something or doin' something the madre does and realize.. yikes i've become her ... i dub it "doin'a mom"

gp in mt

Optimistic Pessimist said...

i proofread as part of my job, yet i almost never re-read my posts before I hit the post button. not sure why but i hate re-reading anything i write. Also I just kind of like to let the words roll out of my head and onto the screen without much thought. sometimes this works well for me, other times not so much.

i'm ok with becoming my monther (sort of) unless she becomes like her mother...then i'll just shoot myself!

Deb said...

Please don't judge me on grammar! It's been awhile since I went to school. I'm finding that I second guess myself constantly on spelling and puctuation. I'm not sure I remember what a preposition is at all. Must have killed too many brain cells.

Dang, now I'm scared to leave a comment on your blog. LOL!

Blasé said...

If I published my rough drafts...my Blog would be just plain ridiculous to try and read.

Hit 40 said...

I read my posts out loud in my head to try to catch the mistakes!! I appreciate it when some one tells me that I missed one.

...I had a student the other day excited to hear that she had a D instead of an F in class. Scary!! It is all about perspective. I guess she rarely passes math class.

Mike said...

Did Hit 40 just say that she hears voices in her head??? LOL

Kelly P said...

I don't know which is worse, becoming your mother or looking like your mother.(I LOOK LIKE MY MOTHER.)HA!HA! Or maybe it's both.

clippie29 said...

lol...when my older children where young I found words or phrases coming out of my mouth and I would look around to see if mom was in the room... it would scare me...lol...now I work real hard to make sure I don't act or say anything like my mother...lol...lol...

Debbie said...

Oh God was I feeling a lot of shame and guilt reading this. Your mother was also my father...no not a sex change reincarnation or anything like that, he was just like that! I was 8th grade state of Maine spelling champion because he saw to it that I was!! I am constantly writing in these blogs and then going back and reading what I wrote and I could just die! I misspell a word or leave out one. Loved your post as it reminded me so much of my dear dad...thanks....and by the way it was hilarious and you are not alone in your secret behaviors! Was that spelled right? Oh God..

Harlem's A Hatin said...

I think we all turn into our mothers eventually.

http://harlemshaterade.blogspot.com

Nina said...

All I can say is thank _ _ _ for spell check... but then, it doesn't always catch everything... Opps. I too have to admitt I catch my mother in the mirror at times too.... hmmm... I hope it's not an age thing. (smiles) Love and Light, Nina P

Anonymous said...

Since I wasn't around my mother much I can't say that I am turning into her but heaven help me if I start turning into my Dad!

Lori said...

Since your mother has sounded like a most wonderful person, I don't think this is a bad thing. My daughter has done this for a long time and it's not just because she's a teacher either. She will catch herself correcting people and it actually drives her crazy.

PS I'm glad to see you've been writing. I've been gone for awhile so am looking forward to catching up! XXOO

Anonymous said...

my pet peeve is typos or mis-spelling- shit am i spelling that right?

and people who use to, too, two or there, their incorrectly.

Vodka Mom said...

I am the same way.


I just shake my head.........

MsTypo said...

My parents used to correct our grammar all the time. Then i started doing it to my friends without noticing simply because it seemed natural to me. LOL

injaynesworld said...

Oh, I am so there on the whole grammar thing. Call me an anal-retentive control freak (you won't be the first), but when I hear "drug" used as the past tense of "drag" it makes me weep. I don't care who you are or what kind of retaliation you're capable of inflicting on my, I will correct you.

Deanna Bland Hiott PhD, MSN, RN said...

I'm the same way....This has got to be an illness! I'm in online classes right now. The discussion board grammar and sentence structure is , well, lacking. Not that I'm the best writer, mind you.

Anonymous said...

Poor D1 and 2! You'd think by now they'd stop asking you to proofread!!