6/16/12 “It is just dying kicks of evil habits” was one of my mother’s classic comments. This was in response to a behavior, a spoken word, or a thought that reflected the person’s past, something the person or observers thought they had grown out of or overcome. This statement although serious contains innate humor which softened the declaration resulting in smile on the face of the indicted and other people within hearing distance.
The comment does not permanently indict the person, just views the recent failure as rare and temporary. It suggests the person was winning in the battle to overcome the undesirable in their life, but their human nature prevailed once more. An example could be a former alcoholic who went on a binge.
I always viewed the statement as a positive thing saying, your have been doing well with this, do not give up and do not let this recent rare setback deter you from future success.