Words Are Important

I know I can speak for my boyfriend when I say (well, write, in this case) that neither he not I want to upset anyone or rub anyone the wrong way.

It’s just that my boyfriend has an excellent command of the English language. Because he does, my boyfriend tends to read billboards and signs differently compared to most people I know. As a result, I look at things differently. He opens my eyes a bit more – and even makes me laugh.

So, please don’t get offended by what I’m about to write because I suspect I might ruffle some feathers.

I’ll further buffer what I’m about to write with how my boyfriend and I both completely understand how a lot of people (for example: my mom, brother and sisters) regard their pets as members of their family. This post is not intended, in any way, to discount this.

This post is about how the meaning of words is important. Language is important. How we say words, the way we write words, the words we use – it’s all communication and it’s important. Okay, I’m a writer. Of course I think words are important.

But, my boyfriend is not a writer and he is even more adamant about how important words are, especially the meaning of words. It’s not just my boyfriend who makes this stand. I know a lot of people who are not writers who consider how people use words to be important.

In this spirit …

My boyfriend is on the road. I was talking to him on the phone the other day.

He said, “I read a billboard this morning with ‘Dogs are children too’ written on it.”
I started laughing. “Really? I asked.
“Yes,” he replied.

Dog lovers out there no offense. But, this is too much of a stretch.

By definition a child is:
a person between birth and full growth;
a boy or girl;
a human fetus;
a baby or infant;
a son or daughter.

My boyfriend continued.

”You wouldn’t say to someone ‘I’d like you to meet my daughter’ and then bring out your dog …”

Okay, I started laughing again.

Seriously, though, is it okay to point out how such a statement diminishes our language and what we’re communicating about to one another?

I think it is. That’s why I am making this post at the risk of possibly upsetting people.

Then my boyfriend said something that really hit home.

“The relationship a person has with his child is a very special relationship.”

I thought, “Oh. This is important to him.”

My boyfriend has two daughters.
He’s a great Dad. It’s one of the many things I love about him.
He takes his role as a father seriously.
I’d say that, for him, his relationships with his daughters are the most important relationships he has.