"This is Long"

My son Blake has a saying when he's finding things a little boring and tedious. It came out last week at our local "Carols By Candlelight" and then again at the Family church service when all the kids stayed in from Sunday School to sit with their parents. After some time sitting, he'd begin to squirm, then look up at me and say, "This is long."

Now, of course his older brother & sister would phrase it differently. They'd say, "This is boring!" or "I'm bored." I find Blake's little remark about something being "long" is far easier to put up with. "Boring" (or "Bore" or "Bored" or any other derivatives) is one of those words that instantly convey frustration to the heart of a parent. I think it should be banned as an expression in any household that wants to stay reasonably sane or calm. Our choice of words certainly can make a huge difference in someone else's reaction. This just reinforces my opinion that words are containers of their own certain type of power and can make or break a mood. So we could make life easier by being very careful about the ones we choose.

Would you rather get feedback that something you said or wrote was "a bit on the long, rambly side" or it was "boring?" The first comment would give the impression that you could actually do something to change or improve it, while that B word would seem to indicate that nothing can be done and it's a personal comment.

Now I hope nobody will tell me that this thought is either "boring" or "long and rambly."