I'm Not Bossy

I'm not bossy. 

"I'm not bossy. I just have better ideas." is a plaque given to me by my daughter. She has one too, and we both get a kick out of its sentiment. I'm not sure my husband feels the same way, though. 

We are a family of first borns, and we come by our "bossiness" quite honestly. Once when Brittany was four Chuck asked for her assistance on some landscaping we were doing on our new home. She didn't miss a beat, and declared, "Wait, I've got a better idea!"

Now mind you this was not said with any disrespect or obstinace. In her mind she simply did have a better way of attacking the problem. Having a family of three opinionated leaders, and no real followers can be tricky to navigate. At least when Brittany was a child we could claim parental authority, but get the three of us together on a vacation as adults, and it's a whole different story. 

My bossiness stems over a lifetime, as I remember my mother pointing out to me at eight years old that if I didn't stop being so bossy I would not have any friends. I knew better than to talk back to her, but I remember clearly thinking, "Well they'll do anything I say." And they would! I learned early on that the world is divided into leaders and followers, and followers are all looking for a leader. 

Of course my thirty plus year career as an elementary school teacher was the perfect fit for my natural bossiness. Nothing like bossing around a classful of seven years old! 

However, I'm not sure that my natural inclination toward being bossy has always made for smooth sailing in my marriage. Hopefully, I have mellowed some with age, but my bossy gene does like taking charge. 

I was filing some papers the other day and found myself laughing at the plaque that was staring back eye level with me. I guess learning to laugh at yourself is good medicine.