As I have discussed in a previous post, I love swearing. I think there are many places where it can be used appropriately, but like anything else that is dangerous, swearing needs to be used sparingly.
One of my son's friend's family has a swear jar. We used to have a swear jar, and it was useful for eliminating certain words I didn't like being used around the house. The usual suspects -- the f-bomb, shit, damn, etc. -- all cost the user a small fee.* "Idiot" and "shut up" were being used more frequently than I liked by my kids, so I added them to the fee list. I am happy to report the swear jar got rid of both those words. The swear jar went away when I was the only one making contributions.
One day, the friend was discussing how often his dad swore and how much money he owed the swear jar. This dad is one of the most mild mannered and quiet men I know. I was shocked to hear his son say that he used the "c word" almost twenty five times while he was driving to Portland. And I thought I had a potty mouth. I like to swear, but I have my limits. I never use the c word. Ever. The dad turned a little pink, looked up, and clarified.
"Yes, I used c-r-a-p word many times."
Oh.
"Crap" is barely a swear word in my house. I am happy when I say it instead of "shit."
* The money was supposed to be given to charity, but then we ended up using it as an emergency fund for coffee and snacks when I was out of cash. Isn't that the story of most swear jars?
This blog is about the little and big thoughts that pop into my head. I once read that when Flannery O'Connor walked into a bookstore, she would want to edit her published works with a red pen. In the digital world, we have the luxury of tweaking things up after we've hit the publish button. I can be a perfectionist/procrastinator, where waiting for the ideal means little gets done. Here I will share what is not--and likely will never be--perfect.
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