Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Labeling People is Bad: But Useful

Dear future grandkids,

Labeling people is bad.  No one should be pigeon holed by a brief word or phrase.  We are all more complex than that.
BasicallyAdvanced via photopin cc

But we all do it all the time.  Because it is useful.  It helps us organize and keep straight the vast number of people we interact with.

So for the purposes of this blog I'm going to use labels for my family members.  Because even though you, my future grandkids know them and will be able to identify them, this blog is public and I want them to have their privacy.

So, here are the labels I intend to use:

The Professor.  This is my much loved husband of over two decades.  He isn't really a professor but after much family discussion we agreed that this was the best one word to use.

"But it makes me think of the professor on Gillian's Island," my professor complained.

"Exactly," I said,  "You are smart, charming, and good at creating many useful contraptions out of limited resources."

And now we'll have to find a copy of Gillian's Island to show the kids whose pop culture indoctrination has apparently been seriously lacking.

Oldest Girl.  My oldest daughter, a teenager.  Frankly this one was the hardest to come up with.  So many words came to mind but nothing seemed quite right.  But she is a classic oldest child--responsible, high achiever, a bit perfectionist.

Music Girl.  The middle child, also a teenager.  She is many things as well, but music is a passion for her.  She does band and chorus in school and fills much of her time with music.

Imagination Boy.  My pre-teen.  This boy has been good at entertaining himself since birth.  Some children have imaginary friends, he had imaginary universes complete with their own physical laws.

So there you go, my immediate family.

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