You're Not the Boss of Me

I come from a long line of people who like to laugh…real, throw-your-head back, deep, belly laughs. It’s one of my favorite things about my extended family. You have to hold onto some silliness. It makes every day life so much more fun.

“You’re not the boss of me.” is probably my favorite saying of all time. My friends and family will attest to that. I say it with a completely serious face, wide eyes and raised eyebrows in response to simple requests like, “Can you get me a glass of water?” It’s hilarious…to me. However, I often find myself more amusing than others find me. That’s okay.

You know that stage your kids go through, when they’re 13-17 years old or so – when they’re mortified to be seen in public with you? It was then, with my boys, that I liked to say (as we were walking into Target or Kohl’s), “Do you want to hold hands and skip?” It drove them crazy. They would shake their heads and whisper to themselves, “So stupid…” (with maybe a hint of a grin) – which just made me giggle more. Or, depending on how late they were out and how early I made them get up, they might angrily say, “No! Mom! I don’t want to hold hands and skip!” Again, giggling. I really can hardly stand how funny I am sometimes. They’re 22 and 23 years old now…I will still occasionally bring it out. It never gets old…for me.

One thing Allison and I love to do right now is make up goofy voices and pretend we know what the dogs and cat would be saying if they could talk. It’s so stupid funny. We both crack ourselves up!

I like to bring back old sayings – “you’re not the boss of me” is one; “Do you want me to clean your clock?” was one from a few years ago. I have had a person at work say to me once, “You are weird.” It’s true. It’s not beyond me to break out some good old pig-Latin. I call my boss “ossbay” all the time. He loves it. He hasn’t said as much but I’m sure he does. There are people who can’t speak pig-Latin. I feel an obligation to use it.

I learned from my family that you should never take yourself so seriously that you’re offended by people poking fun at you or that you’re unable to poke fun at yourself. I will, on occasion, do the runway walk – usually on the way to the restroom when we’re out. My friends, as they’re reading this, are recalling a specific instance where they’ve seen it and are rolling their eyes. They’re probably remembering how they wanted to hide under the table at a bar or restaurant to avoid people’s wondering glance, “Is she with you?” But they know if I saw that, I would do something like wave and yell, “HELLOOOO, best friends ever…OH! That’s them…under the table!” I know it sounds obnoxious…it’s really not…really…

If you haven’t belly laughed in a while or if you just need to inject some fun into your life – I encourage you to take matters into your own hands. Find humor in every day things. Poke fun at yourself. Use a little sarcasm. Teach your kids that a life infused with humor is much more pleasant than one devoid of it. Happy laughing!

Our Adam - 1989 -

In a photo that makes me giggle every time.