i'd love to blame someone else for that particular snippet of colorful language, but since she has no siblings, neighborhood kids or even school mates to wear the shame shirt, i suppose i'll have to wear it myself. can't you just picture me, my head hanging down, wearing a bright red shirt with bold white letters stating, "potty mouth"? but if you look a bit closer, you might possibly notice a wee smirk sneaking up around one corner of my mouth. the left corner, to be exact. that's the one i can't quite keep under control when i'm trying really hard not to laugh about something inappropriate. like foulish language in children.
ever since i was a kid, i have loved swearing. my parents never use naughty words of any kind. the worst i've ever heard is "crap" out of either of their mouths, so i can't blame them for my potty mouth. when i was young enough not to even know what any of the words meant, my brother dared me to scream out all the dirty words he could think of when we were playing out in the snow one wintery new york day. i guess he figured our parents & all the neighbors had their windows closed, so it was a perfect opportunity to exploit the younger sibling by getting her to do the bad thing. but i did it and with gusto. even though i didn't know their meanings, they felt good sliding off my tongue. it made me feel degenerate and powerful all at the same time.
i never swore around my parents and rarely around anyone at all until i was 20. up till then, i just cussed up a storm in my head. but when i was 20, i decided that going to church & loving God & behaving well wasn't going to be my thing for a while. i was going to take a break, a rumspringa of my own (though we aren't amish). i was going to do any and every depraved thing i'd ever felt like doing as long as i wasn't directly harming others, so it was time to let loose my inner cusser.
for the next few years i threw around any nasty word, phrase or suggestion that passed through my mind. i switched my filters to OFF and let it all fly. i was usually pretty good about cleaning up the language around family members and at church or around other easily offendable folks. and once i had brooke, 8 years ago, i decided it was time to readjust that filter so that my tot wouldn't be tossing F-bombs around town. even though i'm not offended by "bad words", i try to be kind to those who are and therefor i had to teach my kid the same thing, by not talking that way around her.
this has helped me to be more creative with my words. i like to find unique ways of arranging words so that they still carry some punch, but without quite as much filth attached. though, there are still times when a good ole four letter word is still exactly what needs to be said.
so on that note, i hope you all had a really bitchin christmas!
(the pretty colors took the edge off, didn't they?)
It was effinA!
ReplyDeleteHI there! I am your newest follower from the blog hop! Lovely blog! You can find me at www.bouffeebambini.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI have some amazing handmade giveaways. Be sure to check them out if you stop by. Happy Holidays to you:)
I feel your pain! I have, since I was about 2, used the fbomb! My mom tells stories of my choice of words. I have been introduced to many as "the trucker daughter"! I am not ashamed of my language, to me it does not mean the same as it does to others. Maybe its my way of emphasizing what needs to be heard lol. I tried to sensor my mouth around my kids but it has not always worked, however they have managed to not earn that from me =) and butthead is not a bad word, it makes me laugh when little kids say it lol
ReplyDeleteI still remember my mom yelling at me for saying F*** to my grandmother when I was in my early 20s. I have a little guilt over it still.
ReplyDeleteMy Maggie is at the age now to where she is becoming a parrot and trying to repeat things. I've gotta start watching my mouth! :)
ReplyDeleteI cried once when I heard someone say "O my god!" when I was little... now I'm a big fat potty mouth. LOL.
ReplyDeleteyour cat is killing me.
ReplyDeletejust stumbled on your blog. Very funny - what is it about parents not swearing?
ReplyDeleteI love a good swear, I was taught by the master (my dad). But trying to make up creative swears that don't consist of any of the traditional 4 letter words is a fun challenge too.
ReplyDeleteWe go beyond our duty as parents not to have any type of potty language around our children, but bless our souls, Layla has a Trucker's vocabulary...
ReplyDeleteI think I went through all the same swearing fads as you. It all ended when I had kids, too. My fav is still the big bad F word, though. I've been saying the German for S for a while...and yowsa which is downright annoying.
ReplyDeleteHaha! My parents never swore at all. I started swearing after I met Hubby...now what does that say about me:) Great post...you always bring a smile to my face.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your wonderful comments on my posts. I really enjoy writing about my mad little life and it is made all the more enjoyable by having such an encouraging and appreciative audience made up of lovely people like you. Thank you for your support and encouragement. I didn't realise when I started blogging that I would meet so many delightful people.
My sincerest best wishes for 2011. May it bring you much happiness and I look forward to visiting you many more times. (And laughing my abs off with you).
Warmest wishes
Carol
I find it almost impossible to stop swearing around kids. It's like they trigger my fbomb switch.
ReplyDeleteIf I can't be a good example, I can at least be a stern warning.
Alicia {Protodoom.com}