Many years ago I was studying for the bar exam, enjoying nice Spring weather on my over sized patio. My fiancé got a call from her former husband who upset her so much that she started pacing in circles around the perimeter saying “god damn son of a bitch, god damn son of a bitch” over and over while pounding her left hand with her fist. After a couple of laps, her two year old daughter fell into line behind her pounding her fist in her hand as she imitated her behavior. After a while she began to parrot her mother’s angry mantra saying, “ga’dum sum bitch” repeatedly while continuing to pound her fist in her hand and following along.

Once this had continued for awhile, my fiancé changed her route and veered into the kitchen through the open door with the little girl close behind. She immediately turned around to see her daughter pounding her fist in her hand. The little girl looked up at her mom and said “ga’dum sum bitch”, to which her mother exclaimed “oh, shit”. Her daughter immediately replied “ga’dum sum bitch. Oh shit”. Priceless. The kids are always listening even when we think they aren’t.