Well, today is Mother's Day and I saw the above ecard and just had to smile. My mother was a genius at making my brother, sister and me all feel like we were her favorite child. I take that back, we each KNEW we were her favorite and will argue the point even today.
This is really remarkable because outsiders can look at a family and quickly know the mother's favorite child, but not with my mom. My sister, Vicki, was "the favorite" because she was the oldest, athletic and outgoing. I was "the favorite" as being the middle child I was the peace maker, the sweet one, the hard working one. Tommy was "the favorite" because he was the baby, adorable, charming and popular. She really had a gift at making us each feel so special. My mother passed away many years ago so we will never know for sure who was the favorite, but that is okay. I know it was me.
Ugh! I am so tired of folks misusing apostrophes, it is driving me nuts! When did apostrophes start to show pluralization? It is so common now. I ask my sons to tell me the proper use of apostrophes and, thankfully, they do know how to use them, but I still quiz them periodically so they don't forget.
Yesterday, I got an email from a woman who wrote, "we eat a lot of potatoe's, tomato's and cucumbers." I was baffled. She knew that potatoes had a "e" in it but not tomatoes. She put an apostrophe in both to show pluralization but not in cucumbers, which was the only correct word!
Okay, here are the rules:
Apostrophes are used to show possession, Mary's hat, to show the hat belongs to Mary.
Apostrophes are use to show missing letters or numbers, can't = cannot less a n and o
'80s stands for 1980s less the 19, ya'll = you all less the ou in you.
Apostrophes are never use to show multiples, the letter s is= items, houses, etc.
Incorrect:
The Beatle's made great music
Correct
The Beatles made great music.
The Beatle's music was amazing
Incorrect
I went to high school in the 80's.
Correct
I went to high school in the '80s.
What baffles me is, if you don't know how to use an apostrophe properly, why even bother? Just never use them, you would be accurate far more often just never using them at all. Additionally, you can live an apostrophe less- life. You can totally avoid them because they are not used for pluralization. You can use the full words, "would not" instead of "wouldn't", you can avoid possession, instead of "Kelly's House", it could be the "house that belongs to Kelly", okay, a little awkward but you get my point.
Here is the issue that frightens me most, the misuse of apostrophes has become so commonplace that it will start to look right. For example, the lovely phrase "a whole 'nother". It sounds correct because it has been so imbedded in our vernacular. Saying "another whole ballgame" actually sounds clumsy and does not roll off the tongue.
When you are immersed in a culture that keeps using a colloquialism or improper punctuation, you often find yourself using them as well. I swore when I moved to Nebraska I would never use to term "pop" for soft drinks and tell someone to "have a good one" as a goodbye. But here I am "popping" and "having a good one" all over the place.
I know that everything is being abbreviated and shortened but I just want people to still write well. I get several emails daily that have to be decrypted but some are undecipherable. I waste a lot of time trying to figure out what they are writing, in their saving time, they waste mine. I actually have to stop and think about when to use too, two, to, there, their, they're, my grammar is slipping as I am bombarded with numbers instead of words (2, 4, B4, UR). I don't want to lose the ability to write properly and I am very concerned with the children being able to communicate with grace at all.
Maybe, I am old fashioned but I love well written work. I just hope we don't lose that. I want my granddaughter, Mia, to read wonderfully scripted books, letters and emails, not well written texts though, I understand they are too far gone, IMO, SMH
As I wrote a bit earlier, I had a bad week so I decided Macaroni and Cheese was just the sort of comfort food I wanted for lunch. I made up a box of Velveta Shells and Cheese. Now I don't delude myself. I know the box says "three servings". I don't pretend I am not going to eat the whole box. I don't put some in a bowl and then get more helpings. I just grab a fork and sit down with the pan. But I did not eat the whole box technically. I cooked it in a smaller pot than I should have the water bowled over and some of the pasta stuck to the bottom. So I did not eat the whole box. I did however use the entire bag of cheese even though there was less pasta. It was super cheesy. Gotta' say, I really recommend it!
My granddaughter Mia makes me silly.
Friday was a bad day for me. My store manager of 10 years and dear friend, Nicki, quit to start her own business. I am very happy for her but I will sorely miss my partner in crime. Jillian, one of our best employees and a woman with a huge heart, also left
this week for another position. We will miss her sunny disposition and
sweet smile. My gentle friend Monica was told there was nothing that could really be done for her cancer. They are just trying to make her comfortable. Her daughter is getting married today. I cannot imagine what she must be feeling today. How does one face their own mortality? Oh, yeah, and then, we got a new Fed Ex delivery guy. While this may not seem especially tragic you haven't seen David. I am 50 years old and blush when I see him. He looks like a Greek god with an electric smile.
I just feel overwhelmed with loss right now. I know the older we get the more we have to experience loss. I have buried my parents and younger brother. I have only a sister left and she is in Canada being all Canadian, she even says "Eh" now. I just don't want to lose any more people. Growing up, my father was in the Air Force so we moved all the time. We would get settled, make friends, then uproot again. It was hard so I decided I would not do that to my kids. We have lived in Omaha most of their lives. They are "Nebraskans", they have an identity that I never did. They still live here. Daniel lives two blocks away and Jordan about 10 miles from me. I don't want that to change.
Yes, a pretty crappy week indeed but when I went to see Mia yesterday, it just all melted away. I watch Mia on Friday evenings so her parents Jordan (my son) and Leah can have some time to do whatever they would like. After they left, Mia got the Ipad and asked for Elmo (Melmo). She got very frustrated with me because I did not know the password. She took my finger and put it on the Ipad to put in the code and looked at me in disbelief and dismay because I did not know it. I am a fast thinker so I asked her if she wanted to go outside and the situation was quickly diffused as she ran to get her shoes. Mia likes being outside even better than Melmo. Mia likes going outside better than anything.
So out we went. We picked dandelions and violets and she carried them in her hands the whole time we were outside. We sniffed the pine tree, barked at some dogs, played in the dirt and blew bubbles. We sang really over the top versions of songs which she loved. Pattycake included really shaking your head and hands as you throw the cake in the pan and none of the piggies get roast beef in our world, they all get corn, every one of them, even the one that wee, wee, wees all the way home.
Doesn't that make more sense anyway?
Yes, grandkids bring out your silly side. They bring a sense of lightness and levity. The sillier you are, the more they love it. And people don't look at you, scowl, and think "What's up with that crazy woman?" They smile and know you are a great grandmother.
