I admit it. I have a mouth that would make Tony Soprano blush. I like to swear, curse, have a potty mouth. And I never really tried to change it. I grew up in a household where telling someone to 'be quiet' was considered profanity. My mother had had her mouth washed out with soap several times (literally). The only time I ever heard my mother swear was when she called me a bitch and even then she spelled it out. When I confronted her with what a terrible thing it was to call her daughter a bitch, she exclaimed that she did not say I WAS one, but rather that I was ACTING like one. I say call a spade, a spade.When Ben was born my mother-in-law hinted (and not too subtly) that I might want to check my potty mouth at the door to motherhood. I thought HELL NO. But the other day I took Ben to pick up Josh at the BART station and there was a nice looking young woman standing outside the station (okay how old and crusty did that description sound?) She was nicely dressed and was holding a bunch of flowers. She was also talking on her cell phone and cursing like a sailor. Every other word was fuck. And suddenly I thought, not so attractive. Maybe I should ditch the habit. I mean Lauren Bacall can make smoking look incredibly sexy, but the rest of us just look like emphysema
waiting to happen.