!@%!#

Today I am not at the top of my game, but I am getting over the worst of this cold. I took the girls to Meijer's to get some milk and bananas and they were angels. They even wanted to ride in the cart as opposed to walk around and touch things on the shelves. After the blissfully easy trip through the produce, we were in line and Emma kept pestering me for candy. As a rule, I never get candy from the shelves in line, since to do it once means we ALWAYS have to do it. So Emma starts with the normal, "Can I get candy?" and I say, "No". Then she repeats it and I say no again. Then Emma says with resignation, "Oh, Dammit." I stopped putting groceries on the conveyer and looked at her face and asked her what she said. She repeats herself. At this moment, I happen to catch the look on the sweet old grandmother's face behind my cart. It is shocked, yet guarded look. So I calmly say, "Emma, we don't say that word." Emma replied, "Well, I am frustrated, Dammit." I explained to Emma that that wasn't a nice word and made her apologize to the lady behind us for using such an ugly word. I felt the need to say something else to the nice looking lady, so I said,"She is just starting preschool - I can't believe the things she is picking up!". Of course, she does't start until September and has only visited once. But I didn't tell her that. About then I realized that Mary, who is in the habit of tunelessly singing random lyrics at the top of her voice has picked up the cause and is standing in the back of the cart, swaying to the beat of "Dammit, daa-a-a-a-a-aaaammit, damiiiiiiiiiiiit, DAMMMMMMMMMMIT!!!!!". Can I just say how HAPPY it made me that my children picked this public forum to share their first cursing experience? And truly, I DON'T know where they got it from, since my downfall word is completely different. If they started taking the Lord's name in vain I would have known where they got it from and would have been a little humbled. At this point, I can only assume that Emma has figured out how to sneak downstairs and watch Howard Stern long after we are asleep. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.