Uncool Moms

I always knew the day would come when I’d regularly hear the words, “That’s not cool, mom.” Is there a more common phrase in the teenage vernacular?

Well, that time has come and it wasn’t from the mouth of my eight year old, nor was it said for any reason I had previously anticipated.

The other day Andrew burst out with an, “Oh my G--” expletive. Surprised, but keeping my cool, I asked, “What did you say?”

He happily, and matter-of-factly, repeated the offending phrase. You see, around these parts we don’t use the Lord’s name in vain and mom is not even comfortable with the substitute, “Oh my gosh.” But, the offender is only three, and being a three year old means repeating anything and everything you hear.

So, I calmly explained the rules and asked that he not use that phrase again. We’d been through this discussion with my older two kids and they were always willing to keep their language clean. This was supposed to be an easy one. Andrew, on the other hand, responded with a, “But that’s not cool!” and then became a repeat offender the very next day.

Of course, I pointed out the infraction with a more serious tone, and he responded, “No, Jacob says it’s a real word.” Jacob is his four year old baseball friend.

“Um, being a “real” word is not the issue. You may not say that word, ok?”

I got the “that’s not cool” response once again along with a stronger challenge to the rules. Wow! I’ve got a beast on my hands…a kid who questions everything, and without a natural regard for authority.

You could claim that I deserve this and I would have to agree. What is parenting if you aren’t challenged?

But on a positive note, I have finally entered the realm of the “uncool”, a milestone I am quite excited to have achieved.

Only REAL moms are UNCOOL!