At some point in my life the definition of a curse word changed. As a young girl I vividly remember sitting around a table with my babysitter and my friend. My friend, Serena, and I were making up words and laughing hysterically at the nonsense we created. My made up word was apparently not so made up as I learned later in life that it is also the word used to describe a person born to unmarried parents. I can still see the shock on my sitter's face as she gasped so dramatically the oxygen level in the room dropped dangerously. Her spoon fell into her bowl, she peered at me over the cereal box, and sternly warned me against ever uttering that word again.
I still think I heard it from my dad.
Growing up I couldn't even say "crap" around my mom without being reprimanded. (Now I'm almost 30 years old so I say it whenever I please...it's not a bad word in my book. Sorry Mom.) Around my dad I knew the boundaries were stretched further. In appropriate settings the top two bad words were excusable (d**n and s**t). But even with such freedom in language, I was always aware of the "untouchable." The word which was never to be uttered.
Then I had kids and my definition of a curse word was expanded.
Picture this, I'm driving down the highway, radio turned up, listening to a song which makes me remember (songs which are now considered "oldies")...when all of a sudden from the depths of the backseat I hear, "Mom."
I ignore the voice.
I lose myself in the music and remember times when people asked me to go dancing and I didn't envy the new wardrobe my kids had to get every 6 months. Persistent, again I hear, "Mom."
I roll my eyes and ignore.
The song ends and sensing the opportunity, Rory again says, "Mom!" This time with more passion and urgency. I finally succumb to her requests and turn down the radio to ask her what she needs. She looks frantically toward the front seat and says, "Mom! Stop singing!"
After explaining to her that mommy likes to sing and that it makes her happy, I told her that I would not stop singing. This distresses Rory a great deal and she pleads, "No Mom! Please stop singing!"
I turn the radio up. I can hear Rory crying through the notes in the song. To her, my refusal to be quiet is like giving her a spanking. She repeatedly tries for my attention, "Mom....Mom...Mom!"
All I want to do is sing a song while driving in the car.
"Mom" (on some occasions) is a curse word.
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4 comments:
yep. i imagine you did hear it from me.
I LOVE that you were singing in the car. That in itself is a fun "remember when" for me. You used to only sing around me! Oh the memories.... :-)
two things. my mom used to always say, "im changing my name! im not mom anymore!"
also, "crap" was acceptable in our house (i guess my mom thought there could be much worse coming out of our mouths), but i got in trouble twice for using it in school, the second time resulting in a detention. not fair.
Sing it, sister! Kylee screams at me for singing, too. At first, it kind of bruised my ego, but now, it's fun to do it just to irritate her. :) Revenge is sweet.
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