<p>TheDad:</p>
<p>“Pas devant les enfants” is one of the commonest sayings in French parenting. The Brits resorted to French when they wanted to be salacious (L’amour, l’amour!): see the novels of Dorothy Sayers; come to think of it, though, she mixes Latin in, too).</p>
<p>Pepe Le Pew!!! Thats all I gots…</p>
<p>Er…Laissez les bon temps roulez?</p>
<p>Star Trek and Winnie Ille Pu aside, some of the Latin I like the best and find the most touching are ancient Roman grave inscriptions. Here’s one that just about brought tears to my eyes when I first read it, because my own “incomparable daughter” was 15 years old at the time:</p>
<p>D M
UMBRICIAE AFILIAE
IUSTAE VIXIT AN XV
MENS VII DIES DECE
A UMBRICIUS MAGNUS
ET CLODIA FELCIITAS
PARENTES FILLIAE INCOMPARAB
QUOD FIA PARENTIBUS FACERE
DEBUIT MORS INTERCESSIT
FILIAE FECERUNT PARENTES</p>
<p>“For the gods and for the ancestors of Umbritia Justa, daughter of Aulus. She lived 15 years, 7 months, 10 days. Aulus Umbritius Magnus and Clodia Felicitas her parents to their incomparable daughter.
That which a dutiful daughter should have made for her parents, death intervened, so the parents made it for their daughter.”</p>
<p>In other words, death has pre-empted what a dutiful daughter should have done for her parents (i.e. bury them), so they’ve had to do it for her instead.</p>
<p>Do not leave out Italian if we are going this route. Especially apt for cc parents of juniors, is, “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate”.</p>
<p>:) Just kidding.</p>
<p>hehe thats what I told my friends outside the SAT Test Centre :p</p>