Blame my Handwriting on my 4th grade Teacher

A recent shopping list

So recently I told my mother that I was in the process of addresses the invites for Tommy's party.

"Did you make them look nice?" she asked. I said, "I used marker so my handwriting isn't as bad as usual." I replied.

You see, I have terrible handwriting. I generally print. And it looks like a 4th grader wrote it, or as a former roommate (Marney) once said a serial killer.

"Bury the bodies in the backyard," she would read off my shopping list. "No," I would correct her, "It says milk, apples and eggs."

But back to the 4th grade thing. When I was in 4th grade, Sister Jean Margaret gave me a "D" in handwriting. A "D!" That's practically an "F!" I never got bad grades, and barely even had a "C" at any point after that in my academic career. But I think that ingrained in my head the idea that I just had, and always would have, horrible handwriting.

My 4's and 9's are often confusing. Ditto for 1's and 7's. And my u's can often curl in a bit, looking like a's. I had to make sure after Tommy was born that his birth certificate would read Thomas GUY Haire instead of Thomas GAY Haire.

My mom said, "You could have nice handwriting if you just took your time." Probably fair advice. But I'm 34 years old. Maybe Sister Jean should have told me that...