It happened again. I don't really want to make it habit. Confronting Marines, that is.
I took the girls to BK on base for dinner tonight since we had to go to Big Sis' basketball practice afterward. There we were, in a nearly deserted BK, trying to eat our dinner. Three Marines sat a few tables away. They were far enough away that I couldn't hear what they were talking about. But they were close enough and loud enough that pretty often I could hear some of the words they were using. One of the Marines, in particular, couldn't seem to take a breath without using a certain word that rhymes with "truck" that I REALLY do not want to hear my 3 year old say*.
The girls weren't paying them any attention, but still... Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, so I walked over and calmly said, "Excuse me, but could you watch your language?" and walked away. Much better than the first time I confronted Marines about their *ahem* language usage. But, seriously, were they blind? Mine were not the only kids in there. There was one other family in there (granted they were further away). And the one who was the worst offender was facing us!
*Big Sis has already used this word. At the dinner table, no less. I was shocked but recovered sufficiently to realize that she had no idea what it meant. I tried to find out where she'd heard it (older boys, either on the bus or in the neighborhood). Then, I calmly(no, really!) informed her that if she ever said it again I would wash her mouth out. That might have been the shock talking. But I really do NOT want to witness her using that word in front of her father.
3 comments:
Good for you, everybody needs a reminder now and then on what little ears might be overhearing.
I think it's hard for them sometimes to remember where they are--I know Hubs has some colorful language when he comes home from spending any time in the field.
Good for you for reminding them to watch their language...SOMEONE has to do it. ;)
I really don't think people even realize what they are saying anymore. That word has become so much an automatic part of some people's language, it has replaced "like" as placesaver in their conversation. I have a little game that I play at my college where I count how many random F words I hear in the conversations around me in a five minute period....The most I got was 23 from the same guy in the mile and a half trip we shared on the same shuttle bus. I though about saying, "Hey did you know you just said the f-word 23 times in the last mile and a half?" when I got off. Thought it might be public service for him...but then I thought better of it...you never know these days.
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