My mom is fond of saying, you can apologize, but you can not unsay it. I have certainly said things I wish I hadn’t. And things I wish I’d said but didn’t. I found this to be especially true around dearly departed Joe and I. When someone dies suddenly your words tend to take on even more meaning as they play over and over again in your head. I’m very grateful our words that morning were loving and playful.
It’s especially hard when you witness someone saying something awful to a child (I wish someone would snatch you…). My neighbor has called her son on several occasions within ear shot, “Fatso.” And I want to smack her. Hard. Nobody has that bad a day. Instead, I set an intention for her son that other people are helping him have a gentler childhood through kind words.
That little boy was lucky you were watching out over him and sending your kind thoughts in his direction.

You can’t take back what is said in frustration. Better to stay quiet, but sometimes it just blurts out. I have a few times that I wish I could have kept my mouth shut. I do my best to bite my tongue and wait to speak. Of course, I have apologized and they weren’t bad, but still….On the flip side, I have heard words that I wish I never had directed at me. They play over and over in my head although I have worked hard to dismiss them now as the replay is damaging. Just stay positive and keep good things flowing out of your mouth!

Thoughtful post! There’s a meme going around on social media , something like “thanks brain for waking me up at 3am and replaying every dumb thing I ever said.” True, right. On the positive side for the poor Mom, she seemed to be very concerned about something happening to him. Sort of like freaking out when your little child dashes towards a busy street.

A dear Christian counselor friend of mine says that either blessings or curses come out of your mouth. Sometimes aimed at others; sometimes aimed at ourselves. Words are so powerful. Encouragement and love are so important! Thanks friend!

I am much more likely to speak up about verbal abuse of a child (or anyone) than I once was because I’ve become knowledgeable about the subject. And I feel that innate desire to stand up for/help the victim. Granted, it’s difficult to do without inflaming the situation. But, like you say, words are powerful and we have the ability to make a difference, maybe even protect a child, or an adult.

Yes, I’ve said words I regret. We all have. I’ve learned from those mistakes and strive for kindness. The toughest part for me (like you) is forgetting the unkind words spoken against/about me. It’s a struggle.

As busy moms we have all said things we shouldn´t have. I talk about these things now with my grown children and they say they always understood that I loved them even if I said hurtful things on occassion. Perhaps they are just being kind. I still feel bad.

I, too, wouldn’t have had the right words to say to the frazzled mother to defuse the situation. And like you, I’ve kept my eye on kids in stores or parks when I think their parents are not keeping close tabs on them. Especially at the beach. Guess once a lifeguard always a lifeguard.

We’ve all said things that either didn’t come out right or shouldn’t have come out at all. You are right, apologizing for them doesn’t erase them. And I always think, when politicians apologize for something they’ve said or done, that the reality is the original statement or event probably does reflect what they really think. Same thing for most people I’m sure. Apologizing is just trying to make something politically correct that really isn’t and never was.

Little boys like to duck under muddy water, pretend they’re drowning, and duck female or older people who wade out to check on them.

My siblings and I were in a little inlet of a lake where the bottom was muddy, but adults seemed to be standing on the bottom with their heads dry all the way across, among a crowd on a hot day. A nine-year-old boy dog-paddled up to me and said, “Your brother’s been under water for five minutes.”

“Oh ha ha ha, what’s a boy more or less?” I said, watching the toddlers and thinking my brother, age thirteen, ought to know better than to try that stupid old prank.

It was not a prank. My brother would have understood why I said what I said. I don’t know that the little boy ever did.

You must have posted this before I began following you. Oh, how sad that the mom would say that to her little boy. Last night, hubby, son and I went to a steakhouse for dinner. As we were leaving, there were several people waiting in the lobby to be seated. One little boy had walked over into the center, so that folks entering and exiting the restaurant had to walk around him. I was walking in front of hubby and son, so I didn’t see or hear what happened. The mom jerked the little boy by the arm and said: “Get your @$$ over here!” I didn’t hear that, but my son told me as soon as we were out of earshot. Simultaneously, hubby said: “There’s a future rotator cuff surgery”. I’ve often wondered how those poor little children are treated at home if they’re treated like that in public. Yes, our prayers are needed.

I so agree, our words have the power to heal or wound deeply. I know moms of youngsters are stressed out as I was once the frazzled mom of three, but those words thrown out in frustration or anger are not forgotten easily. I have a relative who, to this day as an older adult, remembers the first careless words out of her mother’s mouth when the mom returned from a trip without her children. Instead of being happy to see her child, the mom criticized her crossly. I know all too well I’ve expressed harsh words many times, but the more we’re aware of it, the less we do so, I hope.