It's all in how you say it.

I was struck by a phrase I used the other day...while doing something thoughtful for someone (and I mean thoughtful in the sense I put thought into it, not necessairyly magnanimous or the like). After handing over something I had made for someone, they said "Thanks a lot" and I said; "Oh, it's the least I could do."

As often as I may have used that phrase, it struck me this time as what I really said was; "Oh, no problem, I couldn't have done anything more insignificant if I had tried." That is really what those words put together mean.

Often though, we say things that are very common to us, but we don't bother to stop and listen to what we actually say. For instance, before I really caught myself doing it and consciously made sure to not say it any more, I would say "I could care less!" about something I thought was meaningless to me...when acutally I should have said; " I COULDN'T care less!" Because if "I could care less", then I COULD care less.

Often, it is my southern slang that catches me up in a tangle, when I am talking to someone that is not southern by the grace of God. My teachers, growing up, loved to let me know that "'Ain't' is not a word." More often than not though, it is simply just saying something for the 247th time like I have always said it, before I realize, or someone points out to me, that is incorrect wording or phrasing.

So, next time someone is the receipent of something thoughtful on my part, I should just correctly say; "It's the most I could do." Because I should have done better if it was that important in the first place.