"What?! What do you mean the "S" - bad word? What did he say?!" (do I really want to know?)
"Preston just called me stupid!"
"Preston! Say you're sorry to your brother and don't use that word again...got it?! (head nod) "sorry."
A sigh of relief came over me that our five year old evidently decided to throw the word "stupid" out there instead of another choice word. The kids know that they're not supposed to say bad words, let alone call each other names, but if you've ever been around little ones, you probably already know that it's hard to tell just what's going to come out of their mouths.
I've mentioned before that my husband used to be a fighter pilot. He flew the F-15E Strike Eagle and somehow developed the amazing gift of being able to form a tapestry of curse words that would baffle anyone who spoke the English language. He actually doesn't use these words on a regular basis, but if you throw him into some crazy traffic or in front of an intense football game on tv, you can forget about it.
I'm usually found elbowing him or giving him that "look" when we're all sitting in the car stuck on some highway and he's "politely" telling the guy in front of us what he thinks of him. I remind him that "One of these days, the kids are going to repeat what you say."
Enter, Saturday morning. We were all getting in the car and I yelled back, "Everybody ready? Do you have your belts on?" Out of nowhere we heard a little angry voice growl, "DAMN IT!" My mouth fell open and I turned around to look back. He said it a little louder..."DAMN IT!" This time everyone in the car had gaping expressions, everyone of course, except for Preston. His five year old little self was pushing with all of his might, trying to get the buckle of his car seat to snap in. He grew more and more frustrated and looked up at us only to be surprised by the reaction on our faces.
I didn't know whether to quickly shoot a look at my husband or react to our son first. Beating me to the punch, Adam gasped out, "WHAT did you just say?!" Something came over me when he said this and I had to turn my head to try and hide my giggle. Adam looked over at me and was furious. "Did you just hear what he said?!" Looking back at Adam, I tried to cover my smile while giving him the expression of - "Really? Are you actually surprised?!"
This made him even more furious as he went into the whole lecture of "Buddy, you can't say that word. We don't want to hear you say that again, ok?" "Ok Daddy."
Clicking his belt into place, Preston was instantly better and sat ready to go. My husband backed out of the driveway with a look of disbelief.
It's been almost a week now since the "seat belt incident" and our son hasn't said "damn it" since. It may have been a one time deal but it was definitely a surprise to say the least.
The funniest part of all is that football season is getting ready to begin. I would actually pay money to watch how Adam tries to change what he says this year as he jumps in front of the television during a big game. One thing's for sure, you can bet your boots that it's going to be one heck of a golly gee good time.