****************************

Admit it.?? You finished my post topic in your head.?? I know you did.?? I am glad you did.?? It will serve to further validate my point to Jim.?? I’ll get to that in a minute.

I have a cusser on my hands.?? This week it has been “what the h*!! And d*m! it”.

Word got back to me yesterday in serious and hushed tones that we are not to say much about this because it is yet another development of Ty’s battle with Tourette’s.

LLLOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

It SO is NOT!

I am not mocking coprolalia.?? It is true that some people with Tourette’s have this rare expression of profanity but trust me – that is not what we are dealing with here.

Ty is FIVE.?? That’s the problem.

Ty has low impulse control.?? That contributes to the problem.

When Tanner was a toddler, he gained an appreciation for “what the double hockey stick” to.?? He mostly exercised his freedom of speech at (ironically) Aunt Brooke’s house.?? I was pretty horrified by this and really wished that Brooke would keep that tidbit to herself (which for the record she did not 🙂 ).?? Made my little guy look bad.?? Truth??? Alright, alright….made his mama look bad and folks I have worked hard to not utter what gallops like a zebra across the plains through my brain so it really isn’t fair that I should be the one to wear the label of the mother of the children who swear like sailors.?? (Being a little dramatic now???I admit).

I am finished being horrified by such things in life.?? LOL.?? It is a tad tempting to look in the eyes of my loved ones after these little cursing sprees, sadly and mournfully shake my head and utter just above a whisper “Tourettes” – but alas I couldn’t do it without breaking into fits of laughter.?? (Like I did last night when Jenna pitched this “poor Ty” tale to me in the car).?? Poor Ty indeed.?? Poor ME!?? At least Ty can blame low impulse control.?? What excuse do I have?

I remember one time in high school being accused of letting a swear word slip on campus.?? It was my friend Angie S. who made the claim if you must know.?? I was so upset.?? In the first place, I didn’t believe I had said it.?? In the second place, I was pretty irate that it could get spread that I had failed.?? I.?? Doni.?? Sweared.?? Cussed.?? Used profanity.???? The scarlett red “C” was tattoed across my forehead.

(And by the way…Angie enjoyed every moment of it.?? Treacherous friend that she is hee hee).

This was a big deal for good reason.?? I made quite a point of letting others know that this was not a struggle for me and that I was very self disciplined in this area (and many many others if you must know).?? The horror if they should find out that the little boaster – the young woman who was just a notch below the sweet Mother Theresa herself – had indeed – let one slip.???? OH THE SHAME of it!!!!!?????? 😉

Jim claimed this week that he never swore so much in his own head as when we installed our TV-G.?? All he could do was fill in all the substitute captions with the real deal.?? Hee hee.?? Exactly what I did to you in my title post.?? :)?? Hee hee.?? And you did say it.?? I know you did.?? I dare you to deny this.?? 🙂 :)?? Even my mother.?? 😉

This week Ty comes into the kitchen and???..

Ty:?? Mommy can I say “WHAT THE???.”

Mom:?? No.

Ty:?? I can only say what the heck??? Why can’t I say “WHAT THE???”

Mom:?? (Silently gritting my teeth.?? I knew he would push this point.?? Also knew my husband was getting something out of the kitchen cabinet and was eagerly waiting to hear my response with a satisified frog type grin already on his face in eager anticipation.?? Grrrrr???)?? Ty you can’t say “WHAT THE???”?? because it leaves people hanging and finishing your sentence wondering if you were going to say the real deal which you know I don’t allow you to say.

I then sneak a peek at Jim’s face.?? Just as I suspected.?? He was laughing.?? At. Me.?? My honey finds me to be such a delight.?? 😉

I have been approached by family members all week in private over this “issue”.?? I have been asked “what should I do when?”???.and then I finish their sentence with “yes I know – what do you do when Ty approaches you with “how the h*!! Are you?”?? or “what the h@!! Are you doing?” or any other creative way he can fit it a sentence.

Here is my answer.?? Remind Ty to not use the word.?? Expect Ty to say it many many many more times.?? Continue to remind him.

What else can I say??? LOL.?? I gotta tell you – I really have a lot of sympathy for my lil buddy in this one because we all know Ty just says whatever pops into his head without much (or any) forethought.?? What in the heCK would you utter if you didn’t have that pause of should I/shouldn’t I a split second before your mouth opened????? Man oh man.?? If you only knew.?? I would be in SO. MUCH.?? TROUBLE.???? 🙂 🙂

Mom and I had the best conversation about this the other day and I will not soon forget what she said or the way in which she said it because it was absolutely priceless and such a beautiful picture that I am carrying with me.

We were having a detailed conversation on a topic that frankly, we still don’t see quite eye to eye on.?? The beauty of it is, we still keep having the conversation and neither of us really need the other to come around to our way of thinking but we keep hashing it out anyhow because we love to jabber every day.?? As a side barr to the heart of the topic, we got off on a side discussion about profane language.?? She was reminding me of her distaste for it.?? Oh how well I know this and I do indeed share her opinion on the matter.?? Sort of.???? A truer statement would be that I have a love/hate relationship with profanity.?? I love the words in my head (apparently because they turn up with my short temper quite frequently) but I hate the idea of them slipping out and proving to you what I already know about myself – I am so NOT in perfect control (LOL).

Doni:?? Well Mother???you should just show up over at my house this week and spend some time in the hallway with your grandson because you will inevitably get an earful of it.

Mom:?? (Read this loudly and with a lot of passion for that is how it was said to me)?? I DON’T CARE HOW MUCH TY CUSSES!?? I LOVE TY!

I was silent a moment.?? I was struck by this overpowering love for my mom and my son and my Abba.

Love is powerful.?? I am so humbled by it.?? What mom said and the way she said it gave me warm fuzzies all over because Abba and I met eyes in my kitchen.?? He was laughing.?? With me.