Recently, my 7-year-old son learned a new phrase: "What the Hell is that?" He doesn’t say it in the way you might expect. It has nothing to do with anger or defiance. For Micah, "What the Hell" is more of an expression of curiosity. He’ll say it if there’s some new kind of dessert he’s never seen before on the kitchen counter when he arrives home from school. He’ll say it if there’s something he sees that he doesn’t understand. "What the hell is that?" as in "Oh, awesome, I’ve never seen one of those before!"
A mother who I respect once told me, "We don’t say that they are bad words, just that some words are more appropriate in some places than others. I like that. And I agree. The thing is, I’m not so sure that Micah has a good sense of judgement about what those times and places are. In a show of fatherly magnanimity, Micah’s daddy told him that its okay to say "What the Hell!" at home, but that he is not to use it at school. Cringing inwardly, I can’t help but ask myself, "Is Micah capable of remembering in any given moment of enthusiasm whether he is at home or at school?" I’m pretty sure that when that inevitable moment of forgetfulness arrives, Micah’s daddy will not be the parent who has to explain. I am waiting for the day when Grandma offers Micah an unusual and not immediately recognizable birthday present. If Micah loves the present an awful lot, and remembers triumphantly that he is not at school, he is almost sure to jump up and say "What the Hell is this Grandma!"
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