L - I - T - E - R

What's the buzz?  Madison actually made it to school spelling bee final this year.  We practiced and practiced but not everyday.  She knows it, she is LAZY! We only practice the last three days before the actual final competition.  We had crazy words like variegated, malleable, grotesqueness, crepuscular, effulgent.... just to name a few.  I had a difficult time pronouncing some of these words.  She did not get out of the first round , but got out during the second round.  The word was "litter".  She started out spelling " L-I-T" stopped for a few seconds and continued with " E- R".  OMG!!!!! All that practice and she misspelled the word litter.  The judge said " that is incorrect".  She walked back to her seat with a smile.  Hummmm....  All the other students who missed seemed somewhat upset, some even cried and Madison smiled.  I guess that is nothing wrong with that until she later told me that "Mom, you told me to try to make it past the first round and I did.  That is good right?" " Next year, I will just be an alternate".  What does that mean?  Why does someone plan just to be an alternate when next year is no where around the corner?  I hope that she did not sabotage her own competition so she doesn't have to study any more words. Go figure.