Plug Your Ears

While coming out of our county courthouse today, the youngest and I caught the tail end of a one-sided conversation of a lady on her cell phone. Her words were laced with the f-word among other character-building vocab choices and as we walked away, I pulled my girl in close. I'm sorry you had to hear that. I wish I could shelter you from the world.

Mom, she sighed, I'm twelve. Just be glad you're not in my school.

Boy, talk about something that makes me sad. For a long time, we did shelter those kids from the world. We kept them in small classes in small schools for as long as we could. We kept the tv off most of the time, kept the radio on one family friendly station, and kept them away from anyone with a foul mouth.

I'm not sure when things began to change. Somewhere along the way, we bought a Nintendo with a few video games. Then we added a computer and had the internet hooked up. An x-box appeared later with even more video games. Gameboys, i-pods, dsi's. Laptops.

Bigger schools.
School buses.
Adults outside a courthouse.

Everywhere you turn you're faced with things you'd rather not see or hear. Even as I write this, our television is tuned into Andy Griffith and four out of five people are completely captivated by Opie's latest escapade. It's one of the few shows we can watch without our finger on the remote in case we have to change the channel quick. Yes, our kids are big and yes, they've heard it all before (and I would imagine have even uttered a few choice words of their own), but I'd rather them not hear it in their own home.

I'm a big believer in maintaining that safe haven. We may not do everything right. We argue. We get on each other's nerves. A lot. But I hope, I pray, that when they are out there in a loud and sometimes ugly world, they think of home. And not necessarily the home with the i-pods and dsi's and an overload of information with the click of a mouse; but a home that, when at least compared to the world, is quiet. Respectful. Not so angry.

Twelve years old and she thinks she's heard it all.

Yeah. That makes me sad, too.