"Sorry"

My mother used to tell me, 'don't say you're sorry - change!'

I suppose she let me off from one of the most dreaded acts known to man.

It may also be one of the most potentially expressive words in the English language.
Say it too often, you're insecure. Say it too little, you're too proud. Say it too softly, you're ashamed. Say it too loud, you're resentful. You can pretty much say anything and mean anything you could ever want in just that one word.

The hard part is saying it to mean what they want you to mean...in that, it's almost impossible. I don't know if I've ever succeeded in providing the correct sounding 'sorry' to my listener. And I know there is always one that they're waiting for.

Perhaps my mother was wise enough to realize I could never produce what she was hoping for in my 'sorry' and so skipped that step entirely.

So maybe I have a bit of a developmental delay in my utterance of 'sorry's. I'm catching up these days, but how much have I longed for some special education on this stuff...