Cuss words

About a year ago, we agreed to let the kids get their own email addresses.  They pretty much only use them to email Mike and I, and to receive email forwards from my father.  We haven't had any problems with the emails at all.  Until now.  The problem was brought to my attention Friday night, right after we dropped Briana off at her friend's house for a sleepover.  Sydney and I were planning a shopping trip and were just heading out the door when she showed me the inappropriate email my father had sent her. 

"Mom, I have to show you something," she told me as she held up her ipod for me to see, "why do you think Papaw would send me an email with a bad word in it?"

I took a good, long look at the email and noticed the word asses at the bottom.  I wondered to myself why would Papaw send Sydney an email with a bad word in it?  Unless he just didn't look at the email very closely.  Or, maybe he thought she was old enough to handle an email with a bad word in it.  She is eight years old. 

I decided to call my father right then and there and get to the bottom of this.  I told him about the email and he immediately ran to his computer to see what he had sent her. 

"Oh, I see," he tells me, "it says assess, not asses!" 

I looked at the email again, and darn it, he was right. 

"Oh, sorry," I mumbled, "I guess I didn't read it carefully enough." 

"That's ok," he tells me, "I'm just glad I didn't accidentally send her one of the emails I usually send to Mike!"