Swear-Spelling

Dylan has spelling tests every week, and to help him prepare, I have him write down the words instead of spelling them orally to me. I figure that, if that's how they test him, that's how we should practice them.

A couple of weeks ago, we were practicing. One word was "shut." Dylan accidentally spelled it S-H-I-T. I looked at it and chuckled. "What??" he asked. "You just spelled 'shit,'" I said. He blushed and erased it, spelling it correctly.

Another word was "good." Dylan spelled it G-O-D. I looked at it and laughed again. "What??" he asked. "You just spelled 'God,'" I said. Again with the blushing, the erasing, and the re-spelling.

I, being the bad mommy I am, was teasing him about liking to spell swear words. (And yeeeeeeeeees, I know "God" isn't a swear word, as long as it is used in the right context. And I've told him that before. But he doesn't really get it. I was that way when I was his age. I never, ever said "God," even when I was reading scriptures. I would say things like, "And GOSH saw that it was good.")

As I was teasing Dylan about liking to spell swear words, he was writing a word on the next line. I said to him, "Why are you writing on the next line? I haven't even given you another word yet." I slid the paper over to me so I could read what he wrote.

He had written, "SHUT UP." And he had this exact look on his face:

Such defiance in those eyes. It was funny.