“It’s Good For You” Is Relative

When you’re around somebody for long enough, generally you start to pick up some of their habits, or an accent, or certain sayings. Jim and I have always found it very amusing to hear one of our boys saying something that we always say, like when D started saying “Smooth move, Back Slacks.” In that case it wasn’t EXACTLY what Jim always said, but close enough. It ended up working well for all of us. (“Back Slacks” Back Story here.)

Another one is mine:
“It’s good for you!”

When I am using this phrase I am almost always (okay, always) saying it as if it were Opposite Day because I’m talking about things that are NOT good for you. Or anyone. (Except in moderation, ahem. LIVE A LITTLE.)

The biggest and most frequent example of this is when we’re putting toppings on our ice cream and I reach for the whipped cream, which Jim despises.

“It’s good for you!” I say, as if he would possibly change his mind about it even though he hasn’t ever done so in twenty-six years of marriage.

We are all pretty persuasive when we want someone in the family to try something, and eventually the kids started saying “It’s good for you!” too. It’s hysterical, hearing them use that logic.

Having always been on the parent side of this, you can imagine my surprise and hysterical laughter when, last weekend during the graduation festivities, my Dad was trying to get my mom to take a bite of something (I can’t remember what it was) and said, “It’s good for you!”

I guess it had to come from somewhere.

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