One of my hidden talents is the frequent and enthusiastic use of superlatives. I’d even go so far as to say I’m the best superlative user ever. It’s also one of my favorite words. Here’s the definition, lest you accuse me of using it incorrectly:
Did you see Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show premiere on Monday? I especially loved his Olympic Superlatives bit. It reminded me of a fun game I like to play (with myself, obviously) about my own made-up “most likely” yearbook quotes. (Did anyone’s yearbook actually do that? “Most likely to succeed” and all that noise? I’m pretty sure mine didn’t.)
You should totally play along- what would you be voted “most likely” to do? Here are some things I came up with for myself.
I would undoubtedly be voted MOST LIKELY TO:
- Trip and fall in a parking lot.
- Get lost in a parking lot.
- Inappropriately blurt “JFC” in an parking lot.
- Use an adverb correctly.
- Be reading a serious parenting book and a young adult fiction book at the same time.
- Seamlessly and creatively integrate profanity into an otherwise intelligent conversation.
- Cry during a soft drink commercial.
- Embarrass her companions while dancing in public.
- Clap excitedly when her food arrives at a restaurant.
What would yours be?
- Most likely to make a creative homemade snack for your kid’s preschool? Or rather,
- Most likely to bring prepackaged cookies from Costco to your child’s school birthday celebration?
- Most likely to run a marathon while nine months pregnant (Is that allowed?)
- Most likely to get into a fist fight with a stranger?
- Most likely to ruin the pancakes?
- Most likely to adopt too many homeless pets?
Really, the possibilities are endless. I think there may even be some innate value in participating in this seemingly silly exercise. I mean, we are a culture that readily embraces self-assessment, even if we claim to poo-poo psychoanalysis or pop psychology. Buzzfeed, anyone? Who doesn’t love taking a revealing personality quiz about which 1990s indie rock chick you’d be, what profession you should really have, or which Harry Potter character you are? We love that shit.
So work with me here, and make your own Personal Superlative list. You might even discover some of the beautiful complexities, disparate though they may seem, that make you who you are. Who knew that the Most Likely To Climb a 14-er is also the Most Likely To Have a Public Tantrum at Wal-Mart Over the Out-of-Stock Croutons? (I’m neither of those, FYI. Though I have been known to cry when a store is out of my favorite snack food.) Or, the Most Likely To Pick the Perfect Paint Color is also the Most Likely to Rock the Country Line Dance?
I feel like I should leave you with an Awwww moment, so here goes; I should definitely be voted:
- Most likely to kiss her children over a hundred times in one day.
- Most likely to greet her family members with an overly enthusiastic, high-pitched squeal-y voice.
But really, this is more my style-
- Most likely to laugh at her own jokes.
Right?
Speaking of hidden talents, is rewriting song lyrics one of yours? Did you catch our first ParentZ Bop video this week? I won’t make you go all the way back there, so here’s the video right here for your convenience. Meredith of Perfection Pending, inspired by her picky toddler, wrote “Eat Something.” Here I am singing it at the piano:
If you have a brilliant parenting parody idea, email me with the Contact Me form up top. Next week’s song is a real doozy…
This post is part of Finish the Sentence Friday.
This week’s sentence was, “One of my hidden talents is…”
Next week’s sentence is: “The most unexpected part of being a grownup is…” (suggested and co-hosted by my lovely friend Sarah of Left Brain Buddha!)
Your hosts:
Me
Janine at Janine’s Confessions of a Mommyaholic
Kristi at Finding Ninee
Kate at Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine?
Link up with us below, and share your favorite posts with #FTSF!
Hmmm. I like this. I might have to give it a try, although we already know one of my secret talents…. 🙂 Thinking of ideas for tomorrow’s post.
Your talent isn’t a secret anymore, baby! 😉
I totally laugh at my own jokes and Kevin totally thinks I am crazy and will bust on me, but seriously I totally think it so much better to laugh and cry. Oh and I totally am one to hugs and tell my kids I love them over and over day in and day out, too!! 🙂
I think laughing at our own jokes *must* be a good thing…
I so totally clap when my food comes. Maybe um. well, yeah. I think I clapped meeting you? If not outloud, def mentally….But the laughing at my own jokes??? YES YES YES. I just chalk it up to my hubs having a crap sense of humor. It’s certainly not me.
And when am I up on the song thing??? EEEP LOVE THIS.
I think it’s definitely possible that we both clapped upon meeting. TOTALLY justifiable public clapping! You’ll be on in March or April, my friend! 😀
YES to using adverbs correctly! See there? I did it. Not that that was hard one. Hopefully, I can do it correctly at other times. (I just did that to get your goat.)
Most likely to have fun breaking grammar and usage rules to get people’s goats.
Why are adverbs so challenging for people? But I think breaking grammar rules deliberately makes you witty and ironic. 😉
This is great! I think mine would be Most Likely To Write About Boobs And Penises. Yep, I’m not sure how they left that one out of my high scho year book…
Yes! That is fantastic. Be proud of that skill. 🙂
Most likely to….stock up on too much food (you could go nuts with the psychology here…)
bitch at my hubby, cry at everything, buy every quality kids’ book at the thrift store, eat chocolate EVERY day, wear the same outfit two days in a row, have spinach stuck in my teeth, obsess about punctuation and grammar,( AND SPELLING!), have trouble using her new laptop, stay up all night reading a book (right, Mom?!), have avocados in the house, be a perfectionist and be a good friend.
Yes! I love this- isn’t it fun? Thanks for playing along!
I so clap my hands when my food comes and even take pics…Food is wonderful when you haven’t cooked it and it looks fabulous…a truly great pleasure. I am so clumsy, I once horrifically broke my pinky-toe by hitting into a couch…the entire toe and part of my foot was black for two weeks…it was freaky and painful.
I LOVE creating new curses and using them as often as I can…I can’t stop myself so why not have fun doing it?
Creative cursing is a true gift. 🙂 And man, I am embarrassingly clumsy. My oldest daughter is, too, poor kid.
I’d be Most Likely to have 8 Projects Going at The Same Time While Attempting to Learn a New Skill. It drives my husband nuts. Oh, I’m also really good at throwing in profanity when it’s just not necessary! Glad to be back with FTSF after my blog hiatus that saved my marriage.
Ha! I’m glad you’re back too, and hooray for blog hiatuses that save one’s marriage. I’ve been through something similar that wasn’t a “hiatus” but was a definite opportunity for redefinition and boundary-setting. 🙂
I, too, love superlatives! They’re my FAVORITE 🙂 I think if I had to assign myself a “title,” it would be “Most Likely to Laugh Whilst Losing Her Shit.” I’ve got the sense of humor down, but patience still alludes me…
LOVED Jimmy Fallon’s first show. I’ve been meaning to write about it, but I can’t stay awake past 8pm these days, so… 🙂
SING ON, MAMA!!!
Now THAT is a great superlative, and talent! I’m with you on the patience, bit. I would be voted “least likely to keep her cool during a stressful moment,” I’m afraid…
Most likely to not finish something I start, Most likely to worry about something long before it actually happens, most likely to have 1000 books stcked up next to bed like I am actually going to read them, Most likely to watch bad tv and then feel guilty when I do not get enough sleep.
Great post!
Yes- I can totally relate to those. See? It’s kind of cathartic, isn’t it? 🙂
I can’t decide whether or not, if I ever met you in person, I’d want to be your best friend or punch you in the nose. The clapping when the food comes is what’s making it most difficult. Lol.
You asshole, Don. I would never judge you.
Most likely to … ream out a restaurant server for getting her order wrong when she is HANGRY …. AND most likely to stand a friend up at the movies because she saw a mom and her kids panhandling at a highway exit and pulled off the road to give her the clothes and toys in her trunk that were destined for Goodwill. (True story. Just happened last night.)
NO way! That is one amazing story. And a pretty good reason to stand up a friend. Wow.
I could totally do this! HA! I’ll have to think on what my list would be…
Yes, put some thought into it- it’s so much fun!
This is great! My middle school and high school both did superlatives and both times I was voted. . . .Wait for it. . . . . Most Dependable. (That’s just a nice way of saying most boring.) Nowadays, I would be voted “Most likely to plan time for sitting down and making a plan” or “Most likely to overanalyze every detail of something she is planning/scheduling” or “Most likely to completely freak out if someone touches her calendar/schedule(s).” Also, “Most likely to use far too many punctuation marks including !, ?, (), ;, /, and/or :. (My mother was my ninth grade English teacher. I can’t help myself.) Hmmmm . . it seems the “Most Dependable/Boring” title might have been appropriate after all!
Oh, Lisa, that made me laugh! Being organized is a virtue- be proud! 🙂
Most likely to shout “Holla” and raise my hands up in the air when I’m excited about something, completely embarrassing my children.
Most likely to crack myself up.
And we should never walk next to each other, because I am also most likely to trip and fall – anywhere.
Loved this, Stephanie!
Oh, you and I would enjoy each other’s company. “Holla” would make me laugh and smile every time. And maybe clap. Then trip.
HA! This is perfect. I am most likely to use an ! at the end of every sentence, comment, thought. Because life should be an exclamation mark!
I would also be voted most likely to trip in a parking lot, while being lost in the parking lot and screaming JFC while dancing in public which is probably why I tripped in the first place.
Kerri, I love you. You answered that perfectly. 🙂
Haha, this is so fun! I will definitely be thinking about this all day now…but if i had to pick, i would go with the “Mom who brings in pre-packaged cookies from Costco to their kids birthday party”
Isn’t it fun? And I brought in Costco cookies for my second grader’s school party. So, yeah.
I’d definitely be voted most likely to break out into show tunes! I randomly start narrating life through songs from musicals. My son is still a toddler but one day he will be very embarrassed.
Oh, I LOVE the breaking into show tunes one. I’d be right there with you! 😀
You’re hilarious. So funny (and totally not unexpected) that one of my hidden talents – tripping and falling -should match yours. We never had “most likely to” in our highschool year books back home but I knew of that of course, through the American teen shows we watch (oh, by the way, another point of resemblance – does it get any more dichotomic than reading Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning AND watching Pretty Little Liars???). I could identify with so much in this post. It’s fun getting to know your better through reading this.
Ha! Your dichotomy cracked me up… Your resume idea was even better than this. In fact, YOURS is the official Best Blog Post EVER today. 🙂
Love the list!! I would be most likely to clean my kitchen until it sparkles and then spill milk all over a hot burner type of person!! 😀
Ha! I totally get that.
Definitely relate to “laughing at my own jokes.” I’d add most likely to hurt myself putting on socks. It’s happened more than once. Love the parody song. Ah the pathos, or is it bathos? I guess then I’d better add most likely to pronounce a word wrong.
Ha! That comment cracked me up. I am very curious about the sock injuries! 😉 Thanks for coming by!
This made me lol. Clap for food. Ha!
Yep, I’m lame like that. I might embarrass you, actually…
I love using superlatives – very, EVER, awesome …. And oh, how fun to hear you sing again! love it – the BEST EVER!!!!!!!!!!!
Not sure what mine would be…
Think about it… you’d come up with some great ones! The best “most likely”s EVER, I imagine…
I think I’m most likely to fall asleep before I finish dinner…It’s been a long week. 🙂
Ha! I hear you on that one. 🙂
Oh my gosh: twinsies. I am the most superlative-using person I know, so that you are too? Amazing. ALSO. Your most-likely list very closely resembles mine. A few more of mine are:
– Most likely to openly weep over animal adoption day at the local pet store
– Exclaim that a restaurant meal is the Best. Meal. Ever.
– Drink too much coffee, get way too hyper, then come down like a wilting flower
– Work in the yard for way too many hours without eating/taking a break, then throwing out her back because I forget I’m not the incredible hulk
– Finish off the last of the ice cream
I’ll think of more and let you know.
I am SO not surprised, twinsie. All of yours could be mine, too- except I’m too lazy for yard work. That’s one area in which I prefer to take advantage of gender stereotypes and outdated marital roles. :p
Most likely to have a spelling error… (I win at this but it turns out there isn’t much competition)
Most likely to get mad at technology and break it by throwing it…
Most likely to regret throwing & breaking technoloy and lie to husband about how it broke…
*Note spelling error?
Didn’t even try.
#winningatlife
Bwahaha. That is so awesome, Allison!
I hate when I try to tell my husband something funny and I’m laughing and then he’s laughing at me laughing but not at what I thought was funny. It’s given me a complex actually. I clap when I’ve made a really good dinner. I have ruined French toast with paprika. Fortunately I smelled my mistake before I actually dipped the bread. But I am thinking I had used the last of the milk or the last egg or something. Can’t remember. Maybe I just didn’t feel like making french toast after that.
Ha, that french toast story is priceless! I tend to cry when I ruin meals. Or storm out of the kitchen whilst cursing under (or over) my breath. 😉
I am going to have to come up with my list, love it! I also am most likely to kiss my kids over 100 times per day. I kiss them so much, its borderline strange. haha! I love your link-ups, they’re so creative and fun! I adored the song Meredith wrote, I had a Pandora station on the other day while making dinner and Say Something came on and I immediately started laughing, I will never hear that song the same again ;)….so now I’m inspired to come up with my own song for you. I’m new to your blog and I love it. 🙂
Kerry, I will never hear the song the same again, too! I wonder if this series is a bad idea for that reason! 😉 May “ruin” a lot of songs for me by the time it’s done! Thanks so much for stopping by- I really appreciate it and I hope you come back! And definitely make your own list- it’s fun!
In high school, I should have been voted, Most Flirtatious, but I wasn’t because someone on the yearbook committee wanted the title. Not sure if it’s good or bad now.
Hard to tell if that’s good or bad! 🙂
I love this! I would definitely be the most likely to laugh when someone falls and most likely to use really bad swear words in inappropriate places.
You and I would get along great. 😉
Most likely to call the fire marshal on the school and be “that” parent.
Oh yes.
And then clap in delight when I go pick up my kid and the principal is crapping his underwear.
I think that one might get the Most Unique Response prize! 😉 Love.
Well, considering that I shared on FB with ALL CAPS would possibly mean that I am quite positively a SUPERLATIVES kinda girl!!!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SONG!!! Oh, so HILARIOUS and TRUE!!!!!!!!!
Most likely to cheer at every single thing that is deserving of it. 😉
Cheers to superlatives- and I LOVE yours! 😀
I laugh at my own jokes and cry over sappy commercials! Love love love this!
Thanks Jhanis! Glad we have those fabulous traits in common!
First, you have a beautiful voice. I see that you are a “music therapist”… I’d like to know more about that – I think my daughter might be interested.
Second, “most likely to surreptitiously walk across your home and straighten the crooked piece of artwork hanging on your wall.”
🙂
Thanks Seana! Yes, I am a music therapist- I’ve been working with children, both typically developing and those with special needs- for 13 years. Feel free to email me if you want more information! And I love your “most likely to…” Perfect!
That video is epic! I am going to start singing it to my three year old at dinner time!! He survives on Cheerios, buttered rice, and plain noodles!!
Mine is terrible, too! Yogurt is our only savior. 🙂 Glad you liked the video, and thanks for stopping by!
Hee! Love this, lady!
I’ll leave this comment with a fun fact: I was voted “DMV’s Most Wanted”.
I know, right?!
Most likely to finish the uneaten food on her children’s plates
and, as night follows day,
Most likely to never lost the baby weight gained after having four children.
Other trophies I’m awarding myself:
Most likely to make inappropriate jokes at funerals
Most likely to salsa left when everyone else sambas right in Zumba
Most likely to be the one the crazies sit next to on the bus
I’m definitely most likely to laugh at my own jokes. Let’s see, I’m most likely to waste my day away on Twitter when I should be doing every other thing. Most likely to have Chapstick on my person at all times. Most likely to say I’m going to only have one piece of chocolate bark and then go back three more times for more. Most likely to kick my family’s butts at Wii Just Dance…except for Eye of the Tiger which my husband wins every time – jerk. 🙂