A Few Choice Words

One day, when I was a child, a couple of the younger siblings got into an argument and began calling names.  We had pretty strict laws in our home about Naughty Words and the rest of us were properly horrified. 

Mom got serious, but instead of coming down on anyone, Mom did something I have never forgotten:  she had the two sit, crosslegged, knees touching, and she instructed them that their punishment was to take turns calling one another all the names they could think of.

Naturally, the rest of us became silently attentive.  Believe me, I have never tried this one at home!  We wondered what she could be thinking.

The first rounds included "Dumb-dumb," "Stink-stonk," and "Poo-poo," from which one can see the rhythmic bent of our family dynamic.  After these forbidden expletives, it became more difficult.  By the fourth round, they were really struggling, racking their brains with determination, working to escalate the contest with the most awful insult.

As the first child slung his attempt at a zinger, the second fizzed and frantically sputtered out, "You...you...A&W Root Beer!"

The startled snickers in the room quickly erupted into laughter, and the contest was over.

This humorous situation has served as a vivid example of the folly of name-calling:  it really doesn't matter what the words are, insulting is ugly.  I think it is beautiful that we could be more sheltered in our youth than my children have been able to be, but any word can be made vile by the intent of its use.

I have admired my mom many times for her unexpected creativity in Motherhood.  When asked about this situation, many years later, she laughed and said that one of the benefits was that she was able to plumb the depths of our vocabularies! 

I think that one of the secrets to her success as a parent was her use of situational humor to lighten the mood and help us to see the truth.  She only needed a few choice words.


Photos from sxc.hu.