Labeling, 7QTF with a Few Flashbacks

Boy, do we label things in our household! Fun and exciting things too like... dresser drawers!

It's practical right? It assists those who unwittingly relieve us of our parental duties for a brief spell against the thrills, spills, and chills of Da Boyz. At least that's what we try to tell ourselves. I try to sometimes suggest that the regular sitters (a.k.a. The Fam) may consider it slightly insulting considering they can hone in on the pajama drawer quite well by now. I promised I wouldn't bring up the 3 page instructions for NEW babysitters. Drats, now you won't babysit. Please? No don't run away! It's double spaced! So here we go, stick some labels on 'em, time for quick takes!

- LABEL 1 -

Then there's the fridge lists, lunch boxes, school uniforms (we even have personalized Boo, JMan and Squish labels), the office file folders, my garage tools and parts bins, the toy bins, and my personal fave, the filled with hand-me-down-shoes spilling forth like an erupting volcano's lava flow old diaper box, labeled, "BOYS' SHOES."

If you're a first-time reader, welcome. We don't have a girl. Nor have I succumbed to my not so secret desire to wear light-up shoes to work yet. That would be fun! Where are the batteries in those things anyway when they die out? They die out right? Flashback to 1987 on this day of April, IBM produced the first megabit chip! How far we've come in 28 years!

- LABEL 2 -

Really, you must believe me, we only pretend to be type A. I just labeled ourselves there, didn't I? God help us, at our school's charity auction last year, what did Stephi bid on? The organized Mom's bling basket. The prize inside, I thought, was the quasi-hidden $100 school uniform store giftcard, with a nice bling school mom T-shirt, a nice custom license plate cover, some really nice writing instruments. Was I W.R.O.N.G. wrong. The coveted treasure was in fact, yes, you guessed it, a brand spanking new LABEL MAKER!

In fact, I think wifey just labeled the label maker. I better go stop her.

- LABEL 3 -

I did, do consider myself a fairly creative person. I like "big picture" things, music- both playing and composing, art, theater, sports, coaching toddlers (the sports equivalent of disorganized chaos). I mean I was a rubric-busting ENFP when I took the Myers-Briggs and Kiersey test back in the day. Feel a 90's flashback coming on, late night TV style...

- LABEL 4 -

Maybe I've lost a little extraversion due to work and life, but I think I'm more of a shines brighter the more you get to know me version dad. ENFP's a label though. As a socially-wired community of #hashtag people we do label just about everything in God's creation when you pause to reflect on our: personalities, physical characteristics, mentalistics, emotions, social standing levels, talents, demographics, geographics, economics, political views, faith views, or a lack/perceived lack or shortcoming of any of the above.

- LABEL 5 -

Maybe we label because we all have some tiny gnawing sense of insecurity about something, because people are different. Thank God, otherwise life would be pretty freaking boring. If we label someone else it can create a sense of false power and injects it intravenously into our egos because we are the label creator. I'm having an 80's flashback - random vision of He-Man raising a sword screaming -

- LABEL 6 -

Jesus never seemed to label. No, not because they didn't make snazzy label makers back then. Could you imagine the first time all the apostles were together? Could they have used a few:

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." - Matthew 11: 28-30

When I was single, many years ago, back on a church young adults night, a great priest, Fr. R., that I'd had the privilege of working with, spoke to us about the danger of labels. I'll paraphrase his teaching; basically Jesus didn't label Matthew or Zaccheus as tax collectors or the latter as a vertically challened guy, nor did he label Mary Magdalene as a sexual deviant, the leper as unclean, the blind man as sightless, or the crippel as a drain on society. Jesus didn't turn the children away (see my last blog on kids.)

- LABEL 7 -

Fr. R. pointed out, in a very simple way, that God created all of us equal (check out our Catechism's beginning teachings on Social Justice. Sections 1934-1938 and 1945-1947), equal with identical human nature endowed with fundamental dignity, and we will all always be children of God, made in His image and likeness. That's the only label that counts. Focus on that label because it preserves our dignity and destiny. I like that label. Rip all the other ones off.

For more awesome bloggers (yes I just labeled them - see how clever I am? lol), and their quick takes, visit Kelly Mantoan's linkup at - This Ain't The Lyceum!

#Jesus #Catechism #SocialJustice #labels #flashback #catholicdadblog #7QTF #kids #Matthew #Zaccheus