The lent challenge

I swear....a lot sometimes. Most of the time I don't even know it until the words are out of my mouth. It's a very bad habit and seems to be getting worse lately. I have been swearing for as long as I can remember. They are after all just words right?

Well, I guess they can be ugly but can be fun to say and aid with a tone of story or a joke. But with little ears around I have to be careful. No one will think it's very cute when my little girl drops an F bomb as a first word or when asking for Cheerios.

Aiden asked what Lent was on Monday morning and when I explained it (as best I could in my non-practicing Catholic way) I included how people give up things they like or kick a bad habit for 40 days leading up to Easter.

We headed out for school and imagine my dismay when I realized all the {insert expletive here} doors were frozen shut. I couldn't get in. If I couldn't get in my very well planned day could not begin and well, that just couldn't happen. And Mondays always come with bags that have to be loaded into the car. So with a baby in a car seat, diaper bag, gym bag, school bag and a bag with Aiden's sleep stuff in it and my son standing next to me I started to swear...first very midly and then the heavy artillery came out. In fear Aiden was thinking I was angry with him I kept reassuring him that I wasn't and that it was the situation that was frustrating. I know, mother of the year award.

I finally managed to get the passenger side door open and had to load the car seat and Aiden in through this way which was not easy with a 40lb car seat. I crawled over to the drivers side when I realized I left all those bags in the driveway...{insert expletive here}. I crawled back out through the passenger door and grabbed the bags and started reefing on the drivers side door. It popped open, I felt vindicated. Finally, things were looking up. Until I realized I had broken the door. It wouldn't close and when I did get it closed I couldn't open it. {insert expletive here}. Those nasty words were spilling out of my mouth when Aiden covered his ears and very calmly said, "mom, stop saying those bad words" Ahhhh, there it is. The shame that only a mother can feel when her child couldn't be more right and the parent more wrong. It washed over me.

I immediately apologized to Aiden for my behaviour and I promised him I would never use those words in front of him again. He suggested that I give up saying bad words for Lent. I agreed.

So there it is, my love of swearing is no more for the next 40 days and perhaps even for good. I am going not only going to clean up my vocabulary I am going to improve it. I am going to read more perhaps some poetry and sign up for a word a day and learn it's pronunciation, origin and meaning.

Words can be pretty powerful so I'm going to learn new ones and share them with Aiden. I will make him proud.