Out of the mouths of babes

I'm surprised young people ever let their children out of their sight. The things that kids will tell you without any prompting whatsoever can absolutely make your hair curl. The bad thing about some of their impromptu story telling is you can absolutely get your feelings crushed by what they say. That old adage "Little pitchers have big ears" is very true to point. They hear everything that is said and some of it is processed as fact. And, if they've heard it from someone they trust, then they feel comfortable repeating it.
One of my favorite commercials is the one where the little boy is talking about his family's vacation and refers to his baby brother as his mommy's little souvenir.
I love listening to my grandkids when they are relaxed and comfortable enough to just chatter away. Lately I have had one give me manners lessons for proper restaurant behavior. I didn't realize that I had a problem touching plants in pots but apparently she just wanted to make sure that I understood that we musn't never ever touch them or the mirrors.
As a grandparent you are able to gauge how well your grandchildren's parents like you and you always get to hear what is said about you. The best you can hope for is that the children must have certainly misunderstood and press on. It surely impresses on YOU the need to NOT say anything about their parents because it will most likely be passed on at home. You've gotta love kids, they are so guileless in their innocence that they are able to impart great wisdom without even trying. What a shame they will eventually grow up and learn to color the truth to fit a particular situation. It would be nice if they never had to learn how bitter are words that are spoken in haste and anger. How easy and sweet they are to release and how difficult and sour they are to take back. The nasty taste of hurtful words never completely leaves your mouth and they remain even longer in the ear that hears them and the heart that receives them.
I'll bet schoolteachers could all write a book every year of their career and fill it with the little gems of insight that emerge from their student's fertile little minds. Although there would probably be a landslide of lawsuits trying to stifle the information that has innocently been imparted.
For my part, I believe I will cautiously watch what I say around my little ones and hope that while they may hear a profane word on occasion, at least they will never hear me speak ill of someone that they love.