Spell it Out

Parents often resort to spelling or abbreviating words in front of children so that the children do not get riled up by sensitive information. For example, if David and I want to say "children's museum" in front of Clara, but we don't want to go there, we call it the CM; otherwise, if she hears the phrase and we DON'T go there, she will freak out unduly. We spell out certain snacks that are special treats, like c-o-o-k-i-e-s, so that we have the option of NOT giving one to her. Like I said, if she hears a word, and the object the word symbolizes is not forthcoming, then there is t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

Sometimes David will spell something out that, in my opinion, does not need to be spelled out. He'll say, "Can you take that thing away from Clara. It's a c-h-o-k-i-n-g-h-a-z-a-r-d. Not only does it take me forever to figure out what the hell he's spelling, but also I can't see the danger in just saying the word. Tonight it was, "Do you mind if I do the d-i-s-h-e-s?" indicating that he felt like doing dishes tonight instead of giving Clara her bath. He and I switch off doing one or the other after dinner every night.

He cracks me up when he does this spelling out of seemingly harmless words. H-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s.