When Not To Say Fuck

It's a mixed bag, being the oldest child. You're the responsible one, unfairly blamed for bickering and your sister's foul mouth, forced to grow up first and give up your footie jammies when you aren't quite ready while your sisters stay small and portable. But a good thing is the trust and hero worship from your younger siblings. Things go wrong when they don't listen to you. You're an authority with a certain amount of power when you're away from adults. A better thing is finding out you've made an amusing impact on a sibling. I wish I could remember why I thought that. And what did I think asshole meant?

Postscript: I remember, when the lazy, playful but instructive days of summer winded down, and school began again, H and I went for a walk with our mom, as we often did on weekends. We had no destination in mind, but it was a warm autumnal day, and the leaves were colourful and crisp. We noticed a "For Sale" sign that had been defaced by graffiti. Our precocious H decided to read the most prominent word, her mouth hesitantly forming the necessary sounds to happily tell our mother that the sign said "fuck". That, my friends, marked the first time one of us had said a bad word in front of a parent. Had we been children only a decade ago, H would have had her mouth washed out with soap. Mom looked H, then to me (I looked back with my innocent eyes (since H was clearly corrupted)), then back to H. Mom agreed that yes, that's what the sign said, but that word should never be used. Nice girls did not say such things.

H did not heed my warning, and what was worse, it was in front of a parent. Somehow, it was my fault (true). Her gaffe won me a lecture from mom, about how there are better, more acceptable ways to talk. That lesson didn't stick for either of us.

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Chedwick requested pictures of snow. Here's the view in my backyard; I found it too cold to actually go outside, so I lifted the screen in my bedroom. Yes, those are my fingers. And those little twigs sticking up? My 3' lilac tree. I'm sure it will be fine.