Last week, my family and I took a week long "edventure" to Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Mount Vernon. It was a wonderful trip with both sets of grandparents and an aunt going with us. I thought "vacation" was supposed to leave you feeling nice and relaxed ... HAHAHAHA!!! Anyway ...
My girls had been doing chores and earning "Virginia money" to spend for their souvenirs. Both had saved for several months (and Nana, Granny, and Pop-Pop had contributed loose change to the cause!) and both ended up with around $70-$75 to spend. Of course, everywhere we went, they thought it was time to spend their money. Sunshine Girl is not what I'd call a spendthrift. She was ready to buy the first day and spend all of her money. I reminded her that we had several stops to make during the week and that if she spent all of her money on day 1 that day 7 might not be quite as fun. So she settled for a "colonial" fan and a signal whistle. Satisfied!
On day 2 or 3, we were walking through the visitor's center at Colonial Williamsburg and there was a bookstore just as you went in. Well, any teacher is a glutton for a bookstore, so in we marched. Sunshine Girl spied a cute colonial girl doll (think American Girl, but another brand) that also had a book about the real girl behind the doll. She fell in love (which is kind of weird because she really doesn't play too much with dolls). All week, she kept debating whether to purchase the doll or not. All of the grown ups conspired against her ... "Well, just wait until the end of the week and if you still want her the most, she'll be there for you." Of course, it seemed that EVERY gift shop in Williamsburg had the same doll. It was pure TORTURE.
One day I had taken the girls for a potty break. (One of MANY!) As we entered the restroom, Sunshine Girl said, "I have a case of the s***-I's!" Oh my word!!! WHERE did that come from. I thought maybe I'd heard wrong. So I asked her (calmly), "What did you say?" And, much to my great dismay, she said it again. Not wanting to over-react, I asked her where she had heard that word. "Oh, nowhere. I just made it up." I asked the third time, "What are you saying, again?" And for the third time, she says, "I told you I have a case of the s****-I's." Finally, realizing that this was going nowhere fast, I asked, "Well, what is that? What do you mean by that?" She looked at me like I was from another planet. "Mom, you know. SHOULD I buy this or SHOULD I buy that? You know, the s***-I's."
Whew! I thought my child had gone completely wretched on me. I calmly explained that if she were going to use that made-up word she needed to pronounce it very carefully, that it sounded too much like a word we don't use the way she was saying it. She got the puzzled look on her face and said, "What? I'm not saying a bad word. What bad word does it sound like?" I spelled it (after instructing her again not to SAY the word) and she acted like she had never HEARD the word. "What is that, Mom?"
Oh, nevermind. Just keep your innocence, my love. In due time, your mind will be full of corrupt words that you hear from the world around you. In the meantime, just keep your enunciation clear and don't worry so much!! :)
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