Say the Words!

In a conversation with my son this afternoon, something reminded of the 'Say the Words' story. It has existed in our family for about fourteen years, and began quite innocently by my niece and her husband. For some reason , a repeated scenario generated the phrase that has 'assumed a life of its own.'

It went something like this:
My niece asked her husband to get something from the closet.
He came back and said that it wasn't there!
"On the top shelf, kind of from the middle/maybe slightly toward the right side."
Back up the stairs, and back down the stairs. Not there.
Together they went back up the stairs, and she reached in and grabbed the requested item.
He says, " OK!  You were right! I was wrong."
She laughs and says, "Honey, it happens to everyone at one time or another! No big deal!"
He says confidently, "It'll never happen again!"

And thus was born...You were right...I was wrong...It'll never happen again!
And later on , when the situation ended in your favor, all you had to do was smile and
give the signal, "Say the words!"
Occasionally, the guilty party would only say the 'You were right.'
And they would have to be prodded a little with...'and'
"I was wrong." And if the third part didn't seem to be forthcoming, a gentle "Keep going" usually brought the finality of...."It'll never happen again!
Many times in the classroom, it became a way to break the tension of a situation. There was just something comical about having to 'say the words.' We all knew that when you declared the part about it never happening again, it certainly might be a long shot. Since the kids knew the story behind the words, I think it brought along a sense of belonging, and a way to admit guilt out loud. Lord knows, there are many people who have trouble admitting that they are wrong about anything!! It also gave us a chance to move on.
Sometimes I could use it to my favor. I remember an occasion when a student was looking feverishly for their homework paper in their desk and gave up. I'd whisper, "Go look one more time, and if you find it, you won't even have to say 'the words.'
A reason to beat the system!
Success.
Some occasions warranted mouthing the words, and acknowledging with eye contact.
Life can be funny. Life can be serious. Sometimes you get a choice.