"Oh, Mom."

In my family, expressions surface as a sort of shorthand for what needs to be said- either universally to the world at large, to each other, or to friends, colleagues, and like-minded people.

However having said that, it is also a way to say what you want to say to non like -minded people.

Ponder that a moment...

These expressions are not ours alone, but the cool thing is, the message is.

Examples:

You've got to be kidding... This may have started with our oldest daughter, but it is a wonderful way to say : that can't be right, have you lost your mind?, isn't this wrong?, and we are all in this together. It is an edifying, encouraging statement to the speaker. Keep going! Tell us more! We are all, as they say, on the same page.

Snap out of it!- My all time favorite thing to say to my students. It is highly effective and is an exhilarating statement of... (fill in the blank). Try it, you'll be hooked.

Really?!- This will not work without inflection and high drama. Place the drama, your own personal accent mark, wherever you like.

You're too cool for that...(again fill in the blank). This has been directed to me as a veiled way of saying 'you've got to be kidding '. That whatever I held up in the store, or pointed my finger at as being cute or interesting, is not- plain and simple. It is the ultimate contradiction in terms because the message translates to: you are not cool.

I have never been a fan of... This was coined by our second daughter. This is her way of again saying 'you've got to be kidding' and again, usually directed at me.

Oh, Mom.

When the other statements are just too much trouble-too exhausting to say- this cut to the chase statement says it all.

And finally, "Mother we talked about that".

This means I have gone a bridge too far.
I have asked if my hair looks good, needs a haircut, needs highlights, is too long, and so it goes.

Do you have a personal language in your family?