February - Getting Ready

Ok, this month...no swearing.  Like I said before I'm not a sailor but I really do have my moments.

I read the dictionary as a child.  I think its fun to learn new words, new ways to use words and after learning them, realizing that I use them in conversation.  I enjoy the surprised look I get occasionally from Josh when I throw in a word he didn't expect, and I love that he teases me about it later.  One time I referred to myself as "brooding", like some Disney villain, he got a kick out of it.  I enjoy listening to how other people use words, and I'm a big fan of precision in language.  Why choose that word if you didn't mean everything it implied?  Josh says I read into things...he is right. 

While it is still January, I want to explain how I feel about swearing in general.  I think that swearing is an integral part of the English language (probably every language, but being Monolingual I can't really testify to that), and can be a great way to express yourself.  When I broke my toe on a couch leg, balance beam, and wall corner (yes, I've done all three), a resounding MF is the only way I could properly express my frustration.  There is some research to back me up on that.

I don't like the idea of excluding words from my speaking vocabulary for just about any reason, but especially not because some people don't like them.  I am a firm believer in free speech, within reason.  Objectionable, bordering on disrespectful speech is well within human right.  Offensive and hurtful speech, while it may be protected, is disgusting and goes over the line.  I think swearing falls solidly in the "objectionable" category.

That said, there is a time and place for everything, and there are many venues where profanity is simply not cool.  I am still mortified when I remember how at our wedding, when I found out that the CD with our first dance song did not make it to the DJ and that it could not be located at our house, I dropped an F Bomb in front of Josh's Mom and goodness knows who else.  This is not to say that I won't swear in front of Chris, but I am saying that in the dressing room, 3 feet from my wedding gown, and an hour away from marrying the love of my life, was the wrong locale.

So, what exactly is going to be banned this month?  Definitely George Carlin's Seven.  But what about "hell", I use that one a lot.  Shoot? Crap? I think a lot of words are just excuses to get away with swearing without really swearing.  I'm going to ban all of it for me, this is supposed to be a challenge, although "Dang" is allowed, I need some sort of crutch.  I'm not sure what Josh is going to do, swearing is part of natural communication at his office.  It could be a really good month for the charity fund, especially if I break a toe.