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,
