Goodness Gracious

What exactly does "goodness gracious" mean? It is used as a form of expletive to express shock or surprise. It is such a good phrase though. Don't you wish people would use it talking about others? When talking about you. She is full of goodness and graciousness. But, alas, the two words have been put together to mean something totally different.
I know about words changing meaning. My great grandma's name was Gayrite.......Grandma Gay. I go to church on Gay Street. At Christmas I sing a song about donning my gay apparel. My kids never fail to note the word. "Grandma Gay.......hahahhahahahahha." "We go to church on Gay Street, get it???" As if I am too slow to understand the pun. And well, you can imagine the discussion about gay apparel in a house of kids.
What about thongs? I mean, didn't everyone in the eighties wear thongs? You know, those shoes that have a little thing that goes between your toes? A type of sandal, right? No no no. Do not say thongs anymore. And do not say, if you are in your forties, that you wear them or that you like them or that they are comfy. No. Because now it refers to the wedgie producing variety of undies that, like thongs of the past, have only a little strip to hold them together. My kids are mortified when I make this mistake.
Lanuage evolves and changes. The problem is that sometimes we are speaking to someone who speaks a language not of our own.........though we are all speaking English. Sometimes we fail to communicate because we are using the wrong word for the generation.
For instance, when I was younger, hooking up meant making a date or appointment to meet up with someone somewhere. Now it has a sexual connotation. Again, don't say this unless you are sure of what the other person is thinking. Or if you are speaking to your spouse.
And kids laugh at us. I laughed at my grandparents. It was New Years Eve and I did not want to be in Nashville with them but in Colorado with my friends. I was in high school, after all. I wanted to "go out". I had a date in other words. In their language, we could go out there.......like, on a drive. I think, to my shame, that I laughed outloud. So, I totally deserve it when I miss the boat when speaking with my teens.
But the best part about all of this is it allows a chance to grow and learn to really communicate. Instead of just listening, nodding and assuming, real communication requires repeating back what you understood someone to have said. For instance, if I said, I am putting on my thongs and going out on the beach, my kids would want me to explain myself.
We can always wish for the good old days. Or we can keep growing and learning and thinking about what someone else, whether older or younger, might be hearing when we speak.
Goodness gracious, we might even find that we actually communicate. I surely hope so.
blessings,
rhonda