I hate the word "bossy." People almost never call a man "bossy." Men are "leaders," "assertive," or "forceful." Bossy is used almost exclusively to describe women, and it's been used on me a LOT. I can be rather forcefully assertive as a leader, whether someone has asked me to be or not, but I have decided to use my mother's take on the scorned word: "I'm not bossy. I just have great ideas." Because she's been called bossy too.
By me.
*****
B: (at 4:45 am) Mom, I had a nightmare about zombies and now I'm scared to be in my room.
A: What?
B: Will you please bring blankets into your room so I can sleep on the floor next to your bed?
A: (slowly waking up) What?
B: (very close to my face) Can I sleep in here?
(this back and forth proceeds for long enough that I finally snapped, because irrational fears are impossible to reason with at FIVE IN THE MORNING)
A: LISTEN, instead of being afraid of PRETEND zombies that are in your head, you should be REALLY SCARED of the one real zombie in front of you, because THAT IS HOW I FEEL WHEN I DON'T GET ENOUGH SLEEP!
B: I don't like it when you pretend to be a zombie.
A: (muttered grimly as I closed his door) I'm not pretending.
*****
I am confident that I am an excellent dancer. I dance and dance like no one is watching, my heart full of joy and my body filled with grace.
Except...
My children ARE watching, and the looks on their faces indicate that they are not yet convinced of my excellence or grace (the joy is undeniable).
They can't get me down.
COME NADIA! LET US DANCE LIKE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT! Expand! Contract! Expand! Contract!
3 comments:
"So I Married an Axe Murderer" .... I win all the Internets!
I love that movie. I always say, "Um, I believe I ordered the LARGE." And explain my single guy friends as, "You know, he was always breaking up with them because they smelled like soup." Excellent choice for a quotable, Friend. We're peas in a pod.
I love your thoughts on the word "bossy." A friend of mine and I were just talking about how he and his wife had decided they would not call their daughter "bossy" anymore bc it implies something is wrong with being assertive (and full of great ideas). Also, I am finally catching up on all of your blog posts and PLEASE DON'T EVER STOP BLOGGING EVER. EVER. Loves you!!!
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