When I was a little girl I never understood fully why my mom did what she did sometimes. I  thought that having to eat your dinner before dessert was a ridiculous thing to ask, or why I couldn’t watch Bay Watch, or why my mom insisted that I should wear my snowsuit instead of my swimsuit when going outside in winter (for the record I insisted back even harder and got my way that time. Swimsuit season is all year long, baby!).
Now that I am older, it all makes sense… nutrients, not-the-best tv, frost bite)
However, there was one instance that I stand by to this day, that I deem unnecessary. I used to forget things. Like, all the time. Mom would ask me to unload the dishwasher- I forgot.  Mom would ask me to clean my room- I forgot. Mom said that I needed to brush my teeth & hair- I forgot.
My forgetfulness was indeed getting out of hand.
Then one day, while we were at church, my mom had asked me to do something and when she checked up on me to ensure that I had done it, I told her I forgot.
As her friends and my friends were walking down the hall she would turn her head, cringed and say ‘Oh Kari, there’s that f-word again!’.  My moms friends and my friends just looked to the ground and scurried by.
I remember looking at her stunned. Ah, excuse me? Pretty sure if I had said the F-word, a lightening bolt would have come down and turned me into dust, if my mother didn’t get to me first.
Then my little 7 year old brain finally caught on.
F-word=forget.
She continued this ridiculousness anytime we were in a public setting and of course when I forgot:
‘Kari, Kari, Kari… that f-word is getting out of hand’ or ‘Kari! why must you use that f-word! I really dislike it!’

I learned rather quickly that I needed to reign in my forgetfulness or else my whole community was going to think I was THAT child, who they would not let their children play with.
Oh mother, you are a witty one. And you out-witted me.