The other day my four-year-old grandson walked down the hall and into the kitchen when he spotted my daughter at the top of a ladder cleaning the tops of the cabinets.
Apparently surprised to see her there, he exclaimed "What the f....!"
My daughter said it was all she could do not break out laughing. In her recounting of what he said she asked me where I thought he'd learned to say that.
And, of course, I said something like go look in the mirror or else talk to your husband. Because most of the things we learn at that age come from mimicking those around us. And in this case, he probably didn't learn it from the bus driver or his school teacher. He likely was following dad or mom around and picked up on what they say when they're exasperated.
My daughter wondered how she might get him to forget the "F" word but I didn't have any good ideas. After all, I think it's a lot easier to learn bad habits than it is to unlearn them. She might try to avoid using the term in the future but it could take a long time for him to disremember that kind of term
But there's an object lesson somewhere in all of this. And it is that no matter where we are in life there's always someone who may be listening to us. And sometimes emulating us.
That's why it's important - especially for those of us who work in recovery programs - to be good examples for our clients and co-workers in everything we do. While I confess to using the F-bomb myself once in a while -usually when angry - I generally make it a practice to not use profanity. That's because I never know who's listening and who might find it unbecoming.
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