I don't really know what got me to thinking about this. But what the heck. Foul language has become such the norm it is almost scary. I used to blush if I accidentally said a bad word. Now I am as ashamed to admit I use more bad words than I should. At one point I implemented a cussing jar in our home to get us all a bit more aware of our language. We were each given ten quarters and lost one to the cussing jar each time we said a bad word. Whoever still had one or more quarters when everyone else ran out, got the contents of the jar.
I lost all ten of my quarters in one sentence when I was cooking bacon one night and spilled water in the pan....(I also got more than ten little grease spatter burns too...)
My ex husband uses the "f bomb" as every other word in any and every conversation. I almost think I am immune to the word sometimes. However, when I hear my kids accidentally drop it and I am absolutely appalled by it. I have really been on them lately about their language. I get upset with their substitute words too, "shitocki", "freakin", etc... it is the intent behind the word being used.
I remember, I was in first grade and my best friend got introuble for using the f word on her brother. I had never heard it before but I assured her that I could use that word in my home and I would not get in trouble. Of course, I had to test that theory out and it took me almost a day to find a use for that word in front of everyone in my household. We were in the kitchen getting ready for dinner and my mom, dad and sister were all there. Our dog walked through and I went over and hugged the dog and said "I love you Tiger, you big ol' fscker you!" The entire house came to a screaching halt and dead silence settled over the room. My mom, my dad, and my sister were all staring at me. My dad asked me what I just said, and in all of my 6 year old innocence I repeated it loud and clear. My sister who is nine years older than me left the room in laughter... I got a healthy dose of soap in the mouth and a long lecture. But what I remember the most is the unbelievable silence that came over the entire house when I said the word....it was as if the whole world stopped. I was over the age of 30 before I ever uttered that word again.
So...how do we get through to our kids these days?
2 comments:
good question.
Kids seem to be immune to what really got to us when we were younger. My son isn't a cusser, but he is a "free spirit" & this gets him into lots of trouble, especially at school.
I used to have a mouth worse than a sailor. What amazes me is that people with that mouth (of the formerly mentioned one I had as well) can turn it on and off ... oh say when working around small children in a daycare.
I do have to say I Laughed out Loud at "the lost all 10 quarters in one sentence" story. I remembered an incident in college when one leg fell through a rotten board on the dock at the lake. One leg went through and one went out to the side. I had splinters in places I care not to think about.
And I remember looking up and seeing all the people up at the house (and the neighbors) slack jawed at the stream of words coming out of my mouth. By the time they removed me from the dock I am sure I had lost rolls and rolls of quarters....
Thanks for the laugh.
I am not sure when it became socially acceptable to use those words in everyday conversation... I too had visits from the soap monster as a child...Probably why I love the movie "A Christmas Story" so much.
LOL my word verification is fjyyck!!!
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