Bam It Damn It

This weekend I took my two sons to dinner while there mom had girl time with a friend. I gazed out the window next to our corner table while the boys played games. I was lost in random thoughts, enjoying the few seconds of down time, when my younger son (YS) loudly announced: “Brother said damn it!”.

Both boys stared at me waiting for my reaction. YS’s eyes twinkled with excitement; he so rarely achieves the joy of exposing his older brother’s mistakes. Older Son’s (OS) eyes locked on me in a blank stare. I stayed silent and worked to restrain a smile. The pause on my part allowed them to pick up the conversation.

OS: I did not say damn it.
YS: You did. You said Damn it.
OS: No, I said Bam it. Buh-buh-buh, with a B, bam it. Not, duh-duh-duh, with a D, Damn it. I said buh-Bam it.
YS: Really? Ok.

And they returned to playing. Sometimes, no reaction on my part really is the best way to go. The hard part was not laughing, thus encouraging them to become more dramatic and heating up the fight. I was glad they kept calm and discussed the issue. They even resolved it. Maybe they are learning some of the life lessons we diligently try to teach.