“It’s Not Like You”

A man I worked with once told me that his hectic week had put him in a terrible mood. “Janet couldn’t get over it,” he told me, referring to his wife. “She said, ‘George, it’s not like you to be so ornery. It’s not like you at all.’” George happily repeated his wife’s statement several times.

Her criticism had been a compliment. By adding “It’s not like you,” She had let him know that she knew he was usually agreeable. I have tried to use that phrase when a member of my family is “not himself.” It has given me a better relationship with my husband and children and helped them see themselves more positively. Anya C. Bateman, Salt Lake City, Utah