My little storehouse of knowledge, which wasn’t necessarily that large to begin with, is getting barer by the day it seems.
I forget little things. General knowledge kind of things that anyone who went past the 9th grade should know.
Now, I admit to not being the best speller. And I’m not a very good typist either. I’m also a terrible proof reader.
For me Spell Check is not just a tool. It is a way of life.
My trouble with getting the right letters in the right order often leads to some unfortunate errors in my writing.
However, vocabulary has never been a problem for me, and I did think I knew the difference between Peek and Peak and Hearty and Hardy, until I misused both words on this blog. A fact that I realized at 3:30 one morning while holding vigil with a sleepless baby.
Your have odd thoughts in the wee hours of the morning when delirious from lack of sleep.
Sometimes I forget how to spell every day words like tomorrow. Is it two Ms or two Rs? And have to think hard about whether to use through, threw or thru. I compound words that should be split, and split words that should compounded.
Just a few minutes ago I Googled, “When do you use a colon and and a semi-colon?” I had the rules switched around in my mind.
And the comma.
For, the, love, of, God, the, comma!
I can’t for the life of me remember all the rules about when and where to use commas, so I put one wherever I feel like one should go.
I am sure I often commit the cardinal sin of the comma splice, something I read about while researching colons.
I sat through more than a few English classes in my early years. I have a B.A. in Communication, and an A.A. in Journalism. I am quite sure I was taught this information. I must have even known it once according to the grades on my transcripts.
In fact, at one time, I earned a salary for knowing these things.
Where has it all gone?
Math, on the other hand, I never really learned, and it almost prevented me from getting those above mentioned degrees. In a Hail Mary attempt, I finally managed to pass prerequisite Algebra I in the last semester of college.
But I had basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division nailed down.
Or so I thought.
I was trying to divide 2,678 by 8 the other day long hand on a piece of paper, because I was too lazy to get up and find the calculator. But I couldn’t remember how. Once I got 8 divided in to 26 and subtracted the remainder, I couldn’t remember if I brought down the 7 and the 8 or just the 7 for the next step.
Sad isn’t it?
I will be of no help to my boys when it comes to homework.
I’ll be learning it all over again.
Right along with them.
Something that, as evidenced, is probably a good thing.
This is something I can totally relate to!!! I often think about taking one of those free GED classes offered in my area…just a back to basics refresher…if you will. Although, I have no doubt they would kick me out the door upon learning of the degrees collecting dust under my bed…at least at think that’s where all my diplomas are located…
I think you lose brain cells when you have kids. I’m pretty sure I don’t know as much as I used to and that darn comma. Well, I’m just like you I put it where I think it should go.
Spell Check will not catch context or syntax.
From and Form are spelled correctly, but are simply typo’s if the wrong one appears because two
letters were transposed. And words get left out when you think faster than you type. The only safe thing we find is to carefully proofread and then let someone else do it again.
I usually put in a comma if there is a natural
pause in that place when you are talking. Newer
English rules use very few commas, and I have to read some sentences a few times to understand what it really means. Reading a
newspaper today makes me want to mark it all
up in red and send it back.
Even trained journalists who write in our paper can’t tell the difference between “to”.
“too”. and “two”. And there is only “threw”
and “through”. “Thru” is a shortcut, used like
“4” in place of “for.” It is not really a word.
It is the kind of thing that drove Jim Keesler to retirement when they gave him 4 sections of
“dumping ground” English in place of College-bound English. It just is not the same since he and Gwen Stage left.
This sounds like a familiar problem to me! I don’t even want to think about how many brain cells I have lost since becoming a mom. Heck, I’m probably not even capable of thinking about this! 🙂
Reading your, um, I’m having trouble remembering the word, oh yeah, blog is reassuring. I’ve been a mom for almost 9 years now. I am totally convinced that if I had to take an I.Q. test I would qualify for some form of state assistance at this point. More people comment about the befuddled look on my face as I try to follow conversations that consist of more than why someone is getting a time-out, lectures of why you don’t hit your sibliing, and reminders of the importance of not leaving your toys on the floor because the puppy will eat them. Once on a desperate attempt to reclaim some of the knowledge that helped me graduate 11th in my high school class, I purchased Brain Age. For the life of me I can’t seem to get my brain any younger than 76 years old! 🙂
Thanks so much for your blog. I thought I stumbled on it by accident while reserching a bible verse (yes all brain cells containing verse locations have been lost to the “fog”). I really think though there was a divine hand involved.