Doin' the Damn Thang

All right, I confess ... I can be a bit of a potty mouth. I suppose that doesn't say much for someone who uses words to make a living, but I can't help it. Cuss words just infiltrate my vocabulary, all stealthy-like. I do make an effort not to use profanity in front of the boys, but shit shoot, sometimes it just slips through my lips before I even know it's on my tongue.

A conversation I had over the weekend sparked me to try and recall whether my kids had ever cussed. Despite my occasional slipups, Colin and Cameron have been pretty good about not repeating bad words. In fact, the only thing I could think of was a scenario that happened once while I was baking a cake. After asking me if he could crack the eggs, stir the batter, and all that stuff - and getting met with "no" every time - Colin gave an exasperated sigh and said, "Well can I just lick the damn bowl then?"

But that was the only time I could recall either one of my kids cussing, in the entire history of their lives.

... Until yesterday.

I was sitting here at the computer and Colin was finishing the task of picking up toys. He thought he was done - but then he spotted a stray under my desk. "Damn it," he muttered, "I forgot something."

Then there was Cameron, later that same day. While we were eating supper, he dropped the last bite of his pickle out of his mouth. And in the most disappointed tone he could muster, he said, "Awww, damn it!"

Clearly we can deduce that "damn" is my most-frequently-uttered cuss word. All I can say is that I'm glad it's a lower-tier, PG-13 cuss word and not, like, the F-bomb or something.

Because if Cameron would have dropped his "effing" pickle? We would've had a problem.