Lots of room for improvement

Lent is over.

So you might be wondering how I did with my commitment to stop swearing.

Not so hot.

I did make a concerted effort to not swear, but it was difficult.  Some days were more difficult than others -- those would be the days that I got in the car and drove somewhere or watched sports on television.  In an attempt to keep my penchant for profanity at bay I greatly curtailed my March Madness viewing, but I still struggled.

Unfortunately, swearing is an ingrained habit that will take me more than 40 days to break.  But at least I've made a start and I plan to continue to work toward eliminating profanity from my vocabulary.

I think swearing indicates a lack of self-control as well as a lack of respect for the feelings and sensibilities of others.  My mother abhors profanity and, out of respect for her, I try very hard to not swear in front of her.  It would be nice if I would show the same respect to everyone who is within earshot of me, whether I know them or not.  It would also be nice if I would show the same respect to myself.

Additionally I feel that when a girl/woman swears, it makes her sound hard and less feminine.  Not feminine in the sense of frilly, fancy dresses and perfect hair and make-up, but less feminine in regards to femininity as it's traditionally expressed through acts of compassion, kindness, and nurturing.

My daughter was 14 when I heard her swear for the first time.  The word she said really wasn't all that bad; in fact most people wouldn't even consider it to be objectionable.  But I had never heard her say that word (or any other profanity) before.  When she said *ss, I felt like I had been slapped.  Hearing that word come out of her mouth was a physical and emotional shock to me.

Later I told her what I had overheard her say and it was obvious from her response that she was embarrassed that her voice had carried across the parking lot to where I was sitting in our car.  She knew that the word she had chosen to use to express herself was not an accurate representation of who she was and the values that she professed.

Likewise, the words that I utter in anger and frustration are not an accurate representation of the person that I profess to be -- the person that I strive to be -- the person that I want to be.

Lent may be over, but the challenge, and my determination to meet it, remains.