It’s not a new discovery that small children soak up everything they see and hear. As a mom on her third time around it should not surprise me that my 2 year old, Cesar, has absorbed everything I do and has begun to mimic me incessantly.
Much to my dismay, Cesar has picked up my catchphrase.
It’s not a “cool” catchphrase; it’s merely a phrase I have to say to my family on the average of 107 times a day.
It’s “Just a minute.”
I have legitimate uses for this phrase. Much to my family’s bewilderment I am not idly sitting around waiting for a request from them. I’m more often than not, engaged in useful duties that benefit the running of our household.
Chances are if you want me to come see your newest masterpiece you have just drawn and I’m downstairs putting laundry in, you’ll hear, “Just a minute.”
It’s very likely that if you are requesting food or drink and I’m halfway down the driveway bringing the garbage to the road, you’ll hear, “Just a minute.”
It’s a good probability that if you need help finding your blue shirt and I’m upstairs singing a bedtime song to the baby, you’ll hear a whispered hiss with a edge to it of, “Just a minute.”
So, yes, “Just a minute,” is a fixture in my daily verbiage and it became more apparent to me when I asked Cesar the other day to come by me and get his clothes on and he…..
Held up one finger, looked at me and said, “Just a minute” and continued to put his stacking cup toy back in order.
I dream of the day when my catchphrase is, “Wow, I can’t believe how much sleep I got last night.” or “I can’t believe how much I got accomplished today.”
Until that day, my family will have to be suffice to wait, “Just a minute.”
I’m busy stacking my cups…I’ll be with you in a minute
Motherhood Is An Art 
love it! I’m waiting for your wishful catchphrases to become mine too! 🙂 For now, my little one has started saying, “Oh, Lord” because that has been my mantra lately when they are driving me crazy or getting into something (which is approx. every 5 seconds).
“Oh Lord” and “Just a minute” are pretty cute at this age! Especially when their vocabulary is still pretty limited. If in a year, he is still saying it and holding his finger up to me I may not be as forgiving!!! LOL!!
true – there is definitely only a small window where they can get away with it! 🙂
Too funny! On a brighter note there are much worse catch phrases for him to pick up. I’ll never forget my youngest son telling someone in his toddler Sunday School class, “You are making me loopy!” Guess he’d heard that one too many times…….
Haha!!! That is hilarious!!! And yes, I am thankful it is only “just a minute.”
So cute.Ours over here is ‘in a minute’.The first time I heard my grandson say that I just snickered because his mom says it a hundred times a day too.
I’m sure you said it to your kids a hundred times a day too!!! I’m sure it’s much more funny watching from the “other side” this time!!!
Oh it is! I laugh at the grandkids when they say things like that so seriously.God bless ’em.
🙂
Thanks for reading Eunice!!
One of my favorite catch phrases as well. It has been in semi retirement for a spell but alas it will be working itself into my full time vernacular starting tonight. Alissa goes back to work tonight and so the “Granny’s Daycare” shingle gets hung back up. The boys are overjoyed. Quentin had to call and tell me that he would be starting “daycare” at Gran Grans tonight. Yay!!!! Uh, JUST A MINUTE, gotta run, the other 2 boys school bus will be pulling up in a flash and I gotta get a jump on the after school snack… Great post! Love ya!
So funny!!! Thank you!!!!
Just a minute, I don’t have any catchphrases…
It never really occurred to me how often I say that until he did that!!!
Imitation is the highest form of flattery. My three old’s favorite catch phrase is “mama said so.” Hmm . . . maybe I should stop answering my toddler’s requests in this way? He has been repeating it a lot lately! 🙂
That is true!!! I should be so flattered!!! LOL!! “Mama said so”…is really not that bad…just think, the more he says it, the more it will sink in…Mama’s words are the law!!!
Reblogged this on Global Family Treks and commented:
Wonderful to hear someone else’s similar plight… Great post!
Thanks for reblogging it on your site!! It’s always so nice to hear you’re not the only one!!
Sounds very familiar!
I figured it would resound with a few moms!!
That made me laugh!!! 🙂
Thanks!! Glad you enjoyed!!
Hey! just a minute. I was working on my book!
What is your next book about? I’m going to be ordering A Different Kind of Killer for my dad for Christmas! (I’ll borrow it from him too, of course!!)
So very true!! I use that phrase a lot, and my kids definitely try to use it, too. Sometimes it’s okay and sometimes it’s frustratingly not okay. I stop them sometimes to ask how many mommies they see (one). How many hands does she have? (Two). Can that Mommy do everything at once? (No.) At least they also have a chance at picking up se patience and ingenuity along the way, too!
Oh yes, my older kids have tried using it as well! Nowadays, they too have legitimate reasons why they can’t come help right at the minute because they are doing homework or using the bathroom. I think it only happened once when they told me to wait because they needed to finish watching a show…oh no…it doesn’t work that way!!! LOL!!!
That’s hysterical. My kid picked up one of my catchphrases once….”Oh, shit!”. We were so proud.
Thanks!! I’m crossing my fingers he keeps it at, “just a minute.”
I must admit to uttering these immortal words hundreds of times a day and cringing when I hear one of the Minnies repeat them! 🙂
It’s so shocking when you hear them say this and they know what it means yet they don’t understand that stacking cups isn’t quite the same as putting laundry in the washer!!! LOL!!! Thanks for reading!!
Oh man, if my daughter could talk, she would be saying this tooo…. I say it constantly!!
Hey!! You’re back!!! Where have you been? Did you quit blogging???