This afternoon at lunch, D picked up his cracker, gingerly lifted it to his ear and said: "Hello, Cs...?"
His inflection was perfect. His casual cheerfulness mimicked my phone voice perfectly. I laughed and remembered all the other things I've heard the triplets repeat after me...after their mother and father...and especially after their older brother. Some of them haven't been so good. There are many times we have to remind each other: "we don't say naughty words."
If I'm honest, I have a bit of a foul mouth in real life, but thankfully I have no problem keeping it out of the workplace. I've heard what an angry expletive slip up repeated in a tiny toddler voice sounds like. It's hard not to laugh. But what amazes me more is how adept they are at picking up the usage of words. They may have no idea what it means, but when they can't get the lid of the toy bucket back on that certain demand for God to enact banishment falls out with excelling verbal ire.
We can't be perfect. There will be times when we regret what we say, whether it be a four letter word or something as simple as "I don't care." However, it's imperative to keep in mind they are always listening. And they'll probably repeat EXACTLY the phrase you hoped they didn't hear.
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