Wednesday, March 18, 2009

More on my amazing boy!

I HAD to share this one!
So CJ and I are on our way to the bank yesterday to open his new savings account. (Good boy) As we head down the road he starts a very nervous introduction to a question, "Um, Mom, I've been wanting to ask you something for a while now. I feel kinda silly and I hope that it doesn't make you mad. I mean its not a BIG deal but I'm just not really sure what you'll say......"
"Son!" I stop him. "What is it? You know you will never get in trouble for just asking a question."
"Okay well, I was wondering if it is okay for me to use the word C R A P?" Yes. He actually spelled it out.


Now I have to add here that "crap" is a word that I am guilty of using WAY too much. I know he hears it from me often, so I am a bit surprised, really, that he is asking at all.
Then he goes on to explain that he tends to use the word "crud" and that seems like kind of a little kid word and he feels funny saying it. He thinks that C R A P (he's still just spelling it) is a little more grown up.
Now I have to interject (now that I have staved off the urge to laugh and cry at the same time) and tell him that using more vulgar words doesn't make a person sound more grown up and if that is his logic he's only a few years from thinking he should say s#*! instead and that certainly isn't okay with me.


He agrees.

As this is going on, my mind travels back to previous "swearing" episodes with the boy:
When he was about 4, he had one of those cheap, hollow plastic hockey sets. One day, we were getting into the 4 door Cavalier I was driving at the time and he was trying to get one of the hockey sticks in the back seat. Suddenly I heard, "Ugh! This damn hockey stick!"
"Christian!" I nearly choked. "You can't say that!"
After a stunned pause, he says, "I can't say 'hockey stick' ?!"

Seriously! - I about died trying to quell the laughter.
"No, son, you can't say 'damn'. Its a bad word."
"You said not to say 'dang'."
"That's because it sounds like 'damn'."
BIG sigh, "Okay, Mama."
And I've never heard a foul word out of his mouth since - honestly!
In first grade, when his classmates were talking about bad words that they knew using the single letter abreviations - 's' word, 'd' word - he told his teacher that he only knew the 'm' word and the 'd' word. "Mom and Dad?" He told her questioningly.

Now it would thrill me to say that in our God-fearing home there is never a foul word to be heard, but that would be a lie. I'm certainly no sailor but I do tend to slip and Troy.... well, he... yeah he's a bit worse, lets say. My point being: the boy hears swear words. Maybe not daily, but often enough that he could have easily picked up one or two and - getting back to the main story - probably never should have questioned the use of the C R A P word.

So I first have to take a moment to let him know how much I apreciate the level of respect that his request exhibts and thank him for honoring his dad and me that way. He blushes a little. Then I go on to explain to him that he won't get in trouble for occassionally using the word but that it is certainly not apropriate for school or youth group and shouldn't be over-used.

What a joy! Really, the kid is 14! How many 14 yr olds ask permission to say "crap"?!

2 comments:

Kimberly said...

That's great! Allie just told me yesterday that CJ had told her something and she BELIEVED it because he is a teenager now. I'm grateful that he's the kind of kid he is since my kids are obviously holding him in such high regard. :)

Mel said...

Well, I hope what he told her something she SHOULD beleive.LOL