Unfortunately, as breakups tend to be nasty, this one was a bit gnarly. I've always had trouble ending things, whether it be caffeine or nail-biting or work committees or boyfriends. The end to this relationship dragged out for about a semester of my college career. I finally packed up every last morsel that I could find that either belonged to him or he had given me or had anything to do with our relationship. I took the package to him, said, "Here's your stuff," spun around, and left. Finally it was over.
It felt so nasty. And, I haven't really given much thought to him since. Two days after the "here's your stuff" conversation, he joined the armed forces. I heard through the usual grapevine that he had married a gal from our hometown. I finished college, married, moved away, went to grad school, got a job, moved again, had kids. But, then, suddenly comes the wonder that is Facebook. And there he is. In. My. Inbox.
If I'm being honest when I say I have trouble ending things, I'm even more honest when I say that I hate going back where I've been. I get goosebumps (the creepy kind--not the good kind) when I drive near my old high school. Thinking about going to old places of employment "to say hi" makes me feel queasy. I just hate going back.
But there I was, sitting in my chair, looking at the Facebook inbox. Sender: JB. It was a simple message:
just wanted to say hi and see how everything is going these days. I saw you at the game. Wish I had taken time to meet your children. My little girl and I wasThe first thing I noticed about this message was not the fact that he had been watching me at the hometown football game I attended as part of my 10-year high school reunion festivities. I didn't even notice all the finer rhetorical things going on. Even though Welby and I did discuss the rhetoric of his message at length, burning at least a half hour of time, instead, I noticed the horrible grammar. Because grammar is my weapon of choice.
there. How is your mom and dad and brother and sister doing? Well I hope.
I should mention here that I am not a grammar snob entirely. Plenty of folks in my life don't use impeccable grammar, and that's fine. I understand. Seriously, I do not go around judging folks based on their grammatical choices...all the time. But, I do reserve that power for desperate times.
I started typing my response, and I just couldn't help myself. I had to bring out the high horse. I used a semicolon.
I'm doing well. I just got back from my ten-year reunion. I can't believe the time has slipped by that quickly. We didn't stay at the game very long. Spark and Flower were both getting tired, so I took them back to their grandma'sAnd I felt much better.
house. You have one daughter? And a son? My parents are great. They love being grandparents. My sister married a guy this summer; they just bought a house here
in Austin. My brother has two kids and works construction with Daddy. Right now, they work somewhere near Texarkana.
Check out the other Works for Me Wednesday posts at We are THAT family.
5 comments:
You have grammatical mistakes in your post about grammar. This sentence sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb: "Even though Welby I did discuss the rhetoric of his message at length, burning at least a half hour of time, instead, I notice the horrible grammar.". I think you need an and between Welby and I. Also, I think you meant noticed rather than notice.
Life can be rough when you have grammarians breathing down your neck.
Actually, I liked your post very much.
Good use of the semicolon by the way.
Duly noted and corrected, Dave. Thanks for the editing. Your message serves as a reminder that I *should* edit my blog posts, but I never take the time to do so!
Tsk,tsk. Sentences aren't to be started with the word "and".
Sentences CAN be started with the word and. Just FYI for anonymous.
And I love a semi-colon. It does make you tingle all over- the good way.
Loved this story! And I love me some grammar. Yes, that's what I said. :-)
I immediately respect any person who uses a semicolon correctly. That's dorky, I know, but true.
Also, I've had it with Facebook. I've gone three days without logging on to my account, and while I initially felt all itchy, I now feel clean, rested, and lucid.
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