Spelling Skills

I used to be an awesome speller.  I remember in 2nd grade I got an award at the end of the year because I never missed a spelling word.  In high school, I frequently passed the spelling test on the pre-test day, making it so I didn't have to do the spelling assignment and test that week.  That was awesome.  I love to tease King because he has a PhD, but always asks me how to spell words.   

But, I am losing my spelling skills.  The computer has made me lazy and I don't like it.  I rarely think about how to spell words anymore.  I type them, and if they get that little red line under them, I don't even try to figure out what I did wrong, I just click on it and let the computer tell me the right version.  Terrible.  It's really a shame.  My one good talent, and I am losing it.

A couple of weeks ago, Sleeping Beauty was chosen to be in the Spelling Bee.   She said she was sort of excited.  So she sort of studied a bit.  But not enough.  She kept skipping over the easy words--she said they were dumb.  Besides, she said, she didn't want to win.  She would hate to go to the regional meet.  That would be awful.  She just wanted to beat at least a couple of third graders.

So, with her sights set incredibly high (ha) and her practicing done to the utmost of her ability (ha), I was feeling great (ha) and was excited (ha) to go to the Spelling Bee on Friday.  Nothing like watching your fifth-grader try to get out of the Spelling Bee before she has to spell something too hard.  But, she was cute.  She spelled the first few words correctly, and even got a chuckle when the name in the sample question was her own.  'Sleeping Beauty's cat liked to entertain itself', or something like that.  (Not Sleeping Beauty--that would be weird.  Her real name.)  She got out on the word imagine, and was annoyed because it is an easy word that she knows how to spell, but she was too nervous to remember it in front of all those people.  (Perhaps she should have studied those easy words, like mom said, hmmmm?)

In the end, it was a good experience for her.  I should have pushed her to study more.  But, her heart really wasn't in it.  What I probably should have pushed her to do was let the alternate take a chance at it.  Her class as a whole did well, and the alternate probably would have enjoyed it.  The last five kids left were three of her classmates and two others, and the boy who finally won was from her class.  Everyone was excited for him and Sleeping Beauty was so glad it wasn't her.  Such a funny girl.

For the record, if I would have been in the Spelling Bee, I would have been the fifth to the last out on the word rutabaga.  Because I don't eat them and because I spent as much time studying as Sleeping Beauty did.