The "F" Word

At our ward Christmas party last weekend I was sitting around talking with some of the members as Anna and Aiden played with all their new friends from primary. Everything was going well until one of the little girls ran over to me and said "Sister Sarah, Sister Sarah, Aiden just said the "F' word"! My heart literally fell into my stomach! I was both shocked and humiliated (especially humiliated as one of the members of the bishopric was sitting there). I ran over to Aiden to give him a very serious lecture.  He looked terrified when he saw the expression on my face and I shouted at him "what did you just say to that little girl?"  He looked at his feet and stammered, "I said foetsek!". I was both relieved and confused! When I looked at the other kids questioningly, one of them responded "it means go away". I nearly died. Here I thought I was going to have to go back and explain to all the other parents where my son would hear a word like that and for what reason he would use it, but instead I proudly told them all that he was just learning and using Afrikaans!