The Nickel.

Ugh. If there was 1 word that I could erase from the Oxford Dictionary: nickel. Do you remember spelling tests when you were a kid? I do! I loved them like a piece of Swiss chocolate!

My favorite day of the week was Friday. Not because it was the last day before the weekend, but because Mrs. Vivilo would pass out our little blue notebooks and I would get to take my spelling test of the week. Kind of lame, I know. But I was a very studious child (what happened?!) I was tickled by the idea that I could work hard and get rewarded by a... sticker.

Yes, it's true. On Fridays, I would flip through that word diary and see week after week of 100's and stickers indicating my excellency of the 4th grade language. This also wasn't my first blue notebook rodeo. I'd been collecting these priceless stickers and grades for 2 years now. My record was impeccable. Until that one December day.

Nickel.

"I used my last nickel to by the candy cane."

Nikel, no, nickle, no, nichel...

Why couldn't I figure this one out?! It's pretty much the lamest of all the coins!

It was a terrible day. I ran out of time before my pencil ran out of eraser. I knew I got it wrong. Mrs. Vivilo almost seemed terrified to hand back my blue notebook that next week. But she did. And I got my first true lesson on word torture.

I still consider myself to be an excellent speller. But that emotional hit stuck with me. Don't be surprised if my grave marker some day gives a shout out to my old friend, nickel.

What sticks with you? Share your comments below!