psa

The title of this post should really be "Awkward."

You see, lately, I've been having some trouble with people mispronouncing my name. When I dialed my voicemail late last week and heard the electronic notice "Messages for Caro-LINE Smith," it was the last straw. I've got to correct this problem, I thought. And fast.

To be honest, I haven't always had an issue with people mispronouncing my name. But, as Mr. Beeton noted when I complained to him of the problem, today, people more directly associate me with my written name; email, Facebook, and Instagram all mark me with a LINE instead of a LYNNE as my parents did. This "misspelling" didn't used to be a problem because when people first interacted with me I introduced myself as Caro-LYNNE, and since they were hearing me and others pronounce it more frequently than they had to read it, it never became a significant problem.

Whenever someone mispronounces my name, I cringe, but I usually let it go. More often than not, when I correct someone, they retaliate with, "Are you sure? But it's spelled Caro-LINE." I mean. What do you say to that? I usually flippantly respond, "Yup. My parents didn't know how to spell." Believe me, no matter how you spell it, it's Caro-LYNNE. At least, that's what it has been since I was born.

I had a whole snarky post written about how there are lots of "Caro-LINES" who are actually "Caro-LYNNES" - Caroline Kennedy and Caroline Ingalls. But, then I found these...





Okay. So maybe not all Caro-LINES are Caro-LYNNES. But this one is.

Keep sweeping, Martha

* My worst Caro-LINE moment came at my wedding when the minister presiding over the ceremony said Caro-LINE (an honest mistake on his part, again the spelling versus hearing thing). Mr. Beeton panicked, though, worried that we weren't officially married since my correct name hadn't been said.