The "S" Word

This week, I’ve been trying to break my decades-long habit of uttering the word “sh#t” whenever I am frustrated. It’s a hard habit to break. There are a few other curse words I’ve been known to use, but this is the only one that it has been hard for me to stop saying in front of my daughters. I noticed they had started saying it, so I gotta stop it! We made a deal that any time I catch one of them saying it, I will say “Uh oh” and take 2 pennies out of the guilty party’s piggy bank. If one or both of them catch me saying it, I have to put 2 pennies in both their piggy banks.

It’s been an uphill battle. Today has been particularly difficult because of the free-lance project on which I’m currently working. Long story short, some screwed up files that I am cleaning up are making my computer crash noga times. Every time it crashes, I say sh#t before I even think about it. A little while ago, Bridget said uh-oh to me again and I said, “I know I said it and I don’t care anymore. Grrrr.” To which she replied, “Maybe we just shouldn’t do it anymore today.” Good idea.

I feel like Huckleberry Finn after he moves in with the Widow Douglas and has to behave himself. He has to sneak away and cuss a whole lot just to get the taste back in his mouth. I’m sitting here thinking about how my own mama and even my sainted grandma both said this word in front of me when I was a kid. Is it really such a bad word? I didn’t think so until I heard it coming out of my little angels’ mouths. I’ve tried saying “shoot” but that just don’t cut it. I tried thinking of the funniest word I could use in its place, something like “tarnation” maybe. But tarnation just doesn’t automatically flow out of my mouth like sh#t. Maybe if I practice it enough, though, it will become a habit. i do so love the word tarnation.

I’m not giving up yet. Even if my efforts fail, at least I’ll make a dent in their college funds, 2 pennies at a time.