Keeping it Real

Strange but appropriate title. Yes, I am going to be honest in my post. I cannot even claim a "not me Monday" because it is Tuesday...

My son received his first bad note today. It only took four years. Well, I guess I shouldn't say it was a bad note because he was on "green" morning and afternoon and he did good on all of his work. What he did not do a good job of was selecting his words.

Austin Kieff said "the d word" at school today. That was the note. Of course, this was only one day after I inquired as to if there had been any problems with other students saying ugly words because of the phrase he came home saying last week. Thankfully he thought the correct ending to the phrase was bit. I will leave the four word phrase to your imagination. I will say he used it correctly, if I can say that and on more than one occassion.

So, back to "the d word." I was hoping that perhaps he had been saying "dad blast it" or "dad gummit." No, I do not know how to spell either of those words. And yes, I realize that they are not very nice but they are at least better than "the d word." And yes, I say both of those phrases quite often. My grandfather said them frequently, perhaps because my Nanny admonished him for his language in front of the kids at some point. Who knows. What I do know is that he said them almost every time he had a bad breathing spell, dropped something, spilled something, etc. Now I say them, too. Perhaps too much!

So, what are we doing about "the d word?" As I type Austin Kieff is writing a letter to his afternoon teacher apologizing for his use of "ugly words." Yes, he is writing. I wrote the letter in highlighter and he is tracing each word. Then he will finish his sentences, "I will not say ugly words." A full page of them. In case you are wondering, "I will not say ugly words in class" would not fit on one line. I am hoping it is a long time before he learns to say such words in his head or under his breath...

If you are wondering, once again, he did use it correctly. If such words are ever used "correctly." Perhaps I should have said "in the appropriate context if someone wanted to use such a word." Needless to say we are discussing appropriate words to express our feelings over various unpleasant, annoying, painful, difficult...situations.

What next?