Getting the Lent Out

Although I'm not Catholic, I've been trying to give up something for Lent in recent years in an effort to improve my life and rectify my sometimes-galling lack of self-discipline.

This year, I've decided to give up cussing in the workplace. I've been working in the same government office since 1995. If you find a job you can peaceably coexist with and stay there long enough, there's a very good chance you’ll eventually find it impossible to continue hiding your true self in the name of workplace decorum. My problem is that my true self likes to cuss. A lot.

Consequently, I’m rarely able to make it through the workday anymore without cussing out loud at least once. Despite a general loosening of the silk noose, it is still considered unprofessional in most non-sporting quarters to proffer such colloquial observations as, “I can’t fucking believe we have to do this shit!”

I’m pretty careful about only doing this among my closest colleagues who I know and trust, but if I don't take steps to reign myself in, I know I’ll eventually say something less-than-couth in front of someone who won’t let it slide. Therefore, at 8am this morning, I vowed not to say another cuss word at the office until Easter Sunday.

By 10am this morning, I had already broken the aforementioned vow with an inadvertent “hell.” A "bitch" followed around 3pm this afternoon. So much for self-discipline. Maybe I should just limit my commitment to words you can’t say on broadcast TV.