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Mud, grime, mold, mildew, dust--certainly no one will argue that these are "dirty" words. Heck! Watch any amount of daytime television to ascertain that fact. Advertisers are smitten with those words and compel unsuspecting consumers to wage war against them with any number of new and improved products.
But, I've come here to tell you about the "dirtiest" word of them all--and it has nothing to do with the opposite of clean. (Or sex.)
Are you ready? Can you handle it?
Brace yourself!
It's summer. The kids are out of school. I am out of school. I have all the time in the world (in between swim practice, basketball practice, the teen volunteer program at the library, etc.)to devote to all those household chores that I put off during the school year, but, somehow I don't want to do them. With a gazillion cable TV channels available, I can find nothing to watch. The books I checked out to read suddenly no longer appeal to me. I am suffering from the "DIRTIEST" word of all. Dare I pronounce it?
It is, dear reader, BOREDOM!
Both in my home and in my classroom, the phrase, "I'm bored!" is a strictly forbidden utterance, tantamount to using a four-letter word. I pity the student or offspring who unknowingly, unthinkingly, allow those words to ooze out of their mouth. I throw them that "dreaded teacher glare" accompanied by my mantra in such cases, "Bored people are boring!" I go on to explain that boredom is a choice--that one needs to find ways to occupy one's mind and enjoy the situation for what it is, often providing picturesque examples of how I avoid the "B" word.
My students seem to embrace this philosophy, *gasping* when someone forgets and blurts the offensive phrase, and chastening the offender with the scolding of choice, "Bored people are boring!"
Thankfully, I've just now found another weapon in my personal arsenal to combat the "DIRTIEST" word of all--blogging! I feel a sense of relief, thank you very much! (Insert "Hallelujah Chorus" here)
And, if this blog bored you, you must be boring! (Nyah, nyah nyah, nyah-nyah!) |
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