Mark’s been studying for tomorrow’s MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam), a part of the bar designed to test understanding of ethical standards for lawyers.
Being the interested and informed (ha) wife I am, I wanted to help Mark study. So I wrote him a practice test question. It is based on a true story. From today, in fact.
Background: We got a good phonics movie this week (Leap Frog Letter Factory), and Sage is really into phonics--sounding out letters and determining what letter a word starts with. For example, she loves to go through the letters of the alphabet and say the following chant my mom taught her: letter name (2x), sound the letter makes (6 times), then a word that begins with that letter. Example: S, S, sss, sss, sss; sss, sss, sss, Sage.”
More background: My dear mother was a stickler for good language in our home. And I’m not talking about swearing. (That would have resulted in eviction from the
“Not nice language,” punishable by time outs according to my mom’s discretion, included the following words: meanie, rude, dumb.
“Bad language,” punishable by time outs and soap on our tongues, included the following: stupid, shut up, jerk.
“Very bad language,” punishable by time outs and cayenne pepper on our tongues, included the following: cra_, suc_ and the alternate words for bum, passing gas, things that collect in people’s noses, and certain nouns related to bathroom activities. [I don’t even have the guts to write them…Back in the day even the written word could incriminate you. I know because once Krista turned in my journal as evidence for my need for cayenne pepper.]
Mark's parents were also very conservative in their language. I hear Mark's dad report one morning that "Max [the dog] did three businesses in the garage.”
I admit that in my independent years away from home, I’ve regressed a tad, and Mark and I use a few of the more common nouns relating to bodily excretions.
So here’s the ethical question I posed to Mark tonight.
Choose the best reaction to the following situation:
You are chatting away with your mother, and your three-year-old daughter comes running in and interrupts you with the following:
“Mommy, I have P-P-puh-puh-puh,puh-puh-puh pee pee undies!”
Do you:
- Send daughter to time out for saying “pee pee”
- Time out+wash mouth out with soap
- Time out+cayenne pepper
- Laugh, but try to turn your laugh into a snort, and look embarrassed
- Apologize, and offer your own tongue for cayenne pepper
6 comments:
Wow! I had strict vocabulary while growing up but not that strict. I try to keep my kids in line and not allow them some words and phrases but...My favorite word is cra_. (I just used it when I used the wrong username. Busted.) All the kids have used it. The girls like to joke that my crop night is really called cra_ night. Kade really has no idea yet. I think I've failed.
So which answer did you really pick?
I think time dulls the memory! Journals were always off-limits for "evidence." Don't forget "let's practice saying two nice things . . .". I think I'm getting a bum wrap! -Mom
Um, doesn't your mom deserve cayenne for using the word "bum"? Or was bum acceptable?
Now that is a question worthy of those tricky lawyer tests! Dude. Motherhood is tough. And maybe be unable to understand Caleb's language isn't such a bad thing.
I thought of you and this post while in sacrament meeting yesterday when Ella blurted out all to loudly, "PEE PEE MOMMY!" So nice for the whole ward to hear that!
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