spelling. 101.

here it is again.  my annual “oops, I didn’t notice that typo the first 15 times I read this post” post.

it’s an apology for any past and future grammatical mistakes.

because I can’t stand them.

and you deserve an apology.  

you know the feeling … you know what you are writing, because it’s in your head.  as you type, you assume it’s coming out on paper {err, computer screen} just as it is in your head.  but it doesn’t.  sometimes, your fingers are faster than your brain.  or vice versa.  and it comes out wrong.  or the squiggly line doesn’t appear under your misspelled word because it’s not, in fact, misspelled.  it’s an actual word that is simply misplaced.  or it’s one of those words that can afford to lose one (or maybe two) key letters and still be a word. (take “buy” and “by” for example)

or maybe it’s the wrong conjunction.  oh.  never mind.  I hate that mistake.  if I ever make that mistake, call me out.  I won’t be offended.  I’ll just be appalled at myself. 

if you couldn’t already tell, I was pretty good at grammar.  I hesitate to say that, because now, any mistakes I make are inexcusable.  oops.

I was that girl that actually liked grammar in school.  maybe because it was literal.  there is a right and a wrong.  there was structure.  a beginning and an end. 

I notice that I am saying writing that while I place periods after incomplete sentences and un-capitalized letters.  forgive my hypocrisy.  I write much like I speak.  stream of thought. 

but I will set high standards for myself when it comes to spelling.  and conjunctions.

so from now on, when you come across a misspelling/typo/overall-mistake, picture me cringing at the moment I finally notice it.  and then, know that I will fix it, even if it’s a month later. 

oh. one last thing.  I overuse commas.  that’s the way grammar was taught when I was learning it.  and my thumb hits the space bar 2x {yes, twice} after a period.  it may not be the way it’s supposed to be done, now.  but it was the way it was done once.  and frankly, regardless of the reason 2-spaces-post-period was ever “the right way”, some rules should simply not be changed.  now, because some grammatical uppity-up says so, millions of people who were once taught it one way will have to re-learn to type the “new way”.  wouldn’t it just be easier to NOT CHANGE THE RULE? 

yes, it would be.

{notice me NOT re-learning.}