Last night one of my nerdiest dreams came true. I was in an adult spelling bee.

It was a fundraiser for Pages & Chapters, a local non-profit organization to promote literacy in urban families. Eleven people competed, and after seven rounds, I got second place.

In case you’re wondering, second place didn’t get a prize. Just, you know, the satisfaction of spelling better than the nine other contestants. And the heartfelt congratulations of my proud husband who knows me well (and realizes that he’d BETTER be proud of me because yes, I took this bee seriously).

When it was down to one other woman and me, I walked up to the microphone. And then? The moderator laughed. She looked at the first word on the eighth round AND LAUGHED.

I knew then this round might be harder than the previous ones. And when she told me my word, I had to admit that, compared to my first word (“barn”), it was, indeed, laughable.

At a spelling bee. With a spelling bee.

The winning (or losing, depending on if you’re me or the winner) word was “soliloquy.” I added an extra “o.”

As I mentioned later on Facebook, “soliloquy” now joins the ranks of all the words I misspelled at a crucial spelling bee juncture AND WILL NEVER MISSPELL AGAIN. “Percale,” “zucchini,” “ulterior” and the oh-so-funny “incompetent” welcome you warmly, soliloquy.

I really do love spelling. And spelling bees. (Not so much bees of the buzzing and stinging kind, though. Duh.) I told Mark on my way home last night that if a spelling board game existed, I would buy it and play the heck out of it. Oh, yes, I would.

I know. I know it’s super nerdy. But you know what? I DON’T EVEN CARE.

Some people love sci-fi movies or video games or fashion magazines or running or any number of things that, in certain crowds, might make them nerdy. Odd. Weird. WHATEVER.

Who cares?

You know how much fun I had competing in an adult spelling bee? TONS. T-O-N-S, tons. And while I might not be nearly as bold and brave as I want my daughter to be when I encourage her to stay weird, I’m happy to be a little weird and wave my spelling flag high.

Soliloquy. Seriously.

Next year I’m totally going to practice. Seriously.

What nerdy thing do you love?
And…do you know…does a spelling board game exist??

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