Oft-Used Phrases

The other afternoon as we got home, I was walking to the closet to hang up my coat, and Amara came running in behind me saying, "Oh my Got, Mommy!" (which to her meant "Oh my God!") She wasn't saying it about anything -- just testing out what, I'm sure, is an oft-used phrase by teachers and likely friends at Day Care.

I'm not proud of my reaction.

I stopped dead in my tracks, turned on her and growled (yes, I think my tone of voice would qualify as a growl in this case), "NO! NEVER say that. Never!"

Her poor little face crumpled into a pile of quivery wrinkles as tears quickly welled and spilled from her eyes.

I quickly gathered her up into a hug, explained that I wasn't mad at her and that I knew she had heard that phrase from somewhere, but that it wasn't a nice thing to say. I told her in my best 4-year-old logic that it's like we're saying mean things about God behind His back... that he likes to be talked TO, not talked ABOUT. I'm not sure she got the logic, but she got the tone of voice. I told her to say, "Oh my goodness!" if she needs to say something.

She instead asked, "Can I say 'Holy Cow!'?" (oy.)

I'm sure had Jon overheard the whole incident, he'd have emphasized that she was just testing the waters with the phrase and had I not reacted, she'd probably never use it again. Perhaps so...

But in the days that have passed, I've learned a thing or two about my daughter. As I mentioned, I'm not proud of my reaction. But there's no question she knows how I feel about the phrase. And she's a "pleaser" by nature, so I'm guessing she won't use it for a while (I'd love to say she won't use it again, but I'm also a realist).

Last night in the car, she was just randomly saying "Holy Cow!" over and over again -- to the point of annoyance. I corrected her and told her that if she's going to use that phrase, it needs to be ABOUT something... not just used repeatedly over and over. And frankly, I'm not sure I'm fond of "Holy Cow!" either -- so I'm going to have to come up with a fun/funny suggestion for her to use in its stead. Perhaps "Bumpy Bananas" or something silly. I'm pretty sure that's why she likes "Holy Cow!" -- it's silly sounding!

So anyway... we're talking. She said, "Mommy, I like Oswald." (See previous post about that whole conversation/situation.) "Mommy, I wish we could watch Oswald at home."

I told her, "I know you like Oswald, but Mommy doesn't like Oswald because he doesn't talk nice. He's not respectful. Do you remember why?"

Amara reminded me, "Yes, Mommy, he says 'Oh my gosh.'"

Now considering this conversation took place over a month ago -- and I'm thinking that an over-reaction on my part was in play there as well -- she really does think about our conversations. Even if it doesn't feel like it at the time. And she hasn't said, "Oh my gosh" again.

Not real sure where I'm going with this whole train of thought -- I guess I need to work on my reactions and "chill out" a bit. But it's also good to see that she's listening and considering and even taking to heart what I do say... even when it's not delevered as well as I might like for it to be.