Saturday, March 6th, 2010
A champion in the family
Outside, germinating seeds are competing with icy geodes. That means spring is near in Minnesota. And spring means the season of playoffs. And speaking of playoffs, our granddaughter Millie is advancing to the Minnesota State Spelling Bee.
Never one to deserve the taj of a dunce, Millie prepared pragmatically for the competition, poring over the libretto of words, words, words. Not even the beauty of the carmine setting sun could lure her from her spelling recitations.
Squashing the suspicion that such obscure words could have been assigned only through misanthropy, she pursued mastery of each word like a vigilante.
Through all this hard work, she wedged her way into the Regional Bee, adjacent to only one other 5th grader–both girls facing down the machismo of 7th and 8th graders. Millie held on obstinately to the end, through 11 rounds and a spell-off for 4th place.
By the end of the Bee, her father was in need of a tranquilizer.
If there had been a sashimi restaurant in town, that would have been a worthy place to celebrate.
Way to go, Millie!
Wordsmiths run in the family!
Way to go, Millie! And fun reading the plethora of interesting words in your blog, Noel. I have been commiserating with my daughter over the dearth of well-written novels in our time. Where are all the great fiction writers?
Lucy Maude Montgomery (Canadian)
Anne of Green gables, My favourite!
Reminds me of all the years I called out words to my daughter who placed in the state of Alabama for several years! Boy, was I ever glad when she got too old. Now I wish she was still a little girl! Time flies, enjoy!
Congratulations, Millie! Noel, your post reminds me of a game I saw at B&N the other day:
http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/Toys-games/Literati-Challenge-Game/e/183338000109?
I haven’t played it, but it looks fun!
Dear Noel,
Congratulations! So great about your granddaughter, Millie. And I enjoyed the way you wove her words into your blog.
Hope you’ve settled in back from Egypt, which I also enjoyed hearing about.
Best,
Valerie
Don’t know if Millie will read this, but we are SOOOO proud of you! I loved spelling when I was younger, and it’s a lifelong skill you’re investing in. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun (and probably some jitters) in Fergus Falls. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Congrats to you, Mollie! I’ve always loved anything to do with words, reading, etc. Keep this up – it will help you in so many areas of your life.