Indifferent

in·dif·fer·ent

inˈdif(ə)rənt/

adjective

1. 1.

   having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned.

   "they all seemed indifferent rather than angry"

   synonyms:

   unconcerned, uninterested, uncaring, casual, nonchalant, offhand,uninvolved, unenthusiastic, apathetic, lukewarm, phlegmatic, blasé,insouciant; More
2. 2.

   neither good nor bad; mediocre.

   "attempts to distinguish between good, bad, and indifferent work"

   synonyms:

   mediocre, ordinary, average, middling, middle-of-the-road, uninspired,undistinguished, unexceptional, unexciting, unremarkable, run-of-the-mill, pedestrian, prosaic, lackluster, forgettable, amateur, amateurish;     I used this word in what I thought was a light hearted way.  Some one used the first meaning above when I intended the second meaning "Mediocre". It hurt and I understand why it hurt. That is the trouble with the printed page, it is never as good as face to face. If you make a mistake you are not there when it is read to make a correction. I was talking about the job I did as a parent, they took it as if I was saying it about them. As you look at the first meaning, their are so many ways it could be taken wrong. I did not look it up before I wrote what I wrote. I remember years ago another incident where I used the word strange. As I think back, I wonder how I ever used it in the way that I did , but I did. I was at someones home and they had a young toddler and he walked over to me and was interacting with me. It may have been the first time I'd seen this kid. This kid is not strange, I said and as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I saw how bad it could sound. I was using it like this kid is not a stranger to me.  I did not intend for it to be used as the kid is weird or something. Why I ever chose to use that word in that sentence to say that, I do not understand where that came from. It sounds worse today than it did 30 plus years ago. It seems to be the story of my life. I say something off the top of my head and someone is either wanting to shoot and kill me or change their name because they do not want to be associated with me.  I am sorry if I use words  inappropriately. We are all human and I wonder how many times people have been hurt with the wrong meaning or the wrong usage of a word. In this case I wasn't even given a chance to explain. I pray God will help me in the future to use my words more carefully.  God bless, LVZ.