Sadly for me, mixing up words is a daily habit. However, there is one particular instance that still lingers in my head.

It all started one day when I was in elementary school. My chest was hurting after running inside from recess and I couldn’t figure out why. Attempting to sound intelligent, I walked up to my teacher and said in my best grown up voice, “My scrotum hurts.”

My teacher’s eyes grew wide. Her jaw dropped. I repeated myself, placing my hand to my chest to indicate where. I can still hear her sigh of relief as she began to realize my mix up.

“Honey, that’s your sternum,” she laughed. “A scrotum is something entirely different. Avoid saying that word until you’re an adult.”

Well, I’m verging on adulthood, according to her request I can now say it, but now knowing what it is, I think I’d prefer to eliminate the word from my vocabulary.