‘You’re My Favorite’

We all have favorites – a favorite song, shirt, activity or meal. We also want to be the favorite – the prize-winning student, the angelic child or the loyal grandchild.

I often say to my daughter, “You are my favorite baby girl” and her response is “I’m your only baby girl.” I say the same to my son: “You are my favorite baby boy.” It is my way to show them how special they are to me individually because truly, they are both my favorites and my one and only son and daughter.

I remember when I was younger that my dad and his brother would often joke about being the ‘most good looking’ when in reality, they looked exactly the same (sorry, but it’s true …).

In the student newsroom, I often say “You’re my favorite editor today” when someone has gone above and beyond (or said something complimentary about me ;).  It makes us all smile and even work a little harder. For instance, I had one student call me about an achievement and follow it up with “Am I your favorite editor today?”

We are often obsessed with being the favorite – sometimes playfully and other times, seriously. We want to be viewed as the best, the most fun, the most beautiful. We need to feel accomplished as if we’ve won an award or some special certificate that pumps up our self esteem and makes us feel on top of the world.

It’s a good feeling – something everyone should feel from time to time.

Today, while visiting with my grandma at the hospital, as I was aggravating my older sister by bouncing on her lap to get closer to my grandma, she said, “Tell her I’m your favorite, Grandma. It’s okay – we all know it.” Grandma insisted that she didn’t have a ‘favorite.’

My sister responded with “It’s okay, Grandma – just give me a wink.” My grandma smiled bigger than I’ve seen her smile in a long time. At that moment, I swear she looked over at me and winked.

I’m her favorite, I guess. And yes, it feels good.

– Shannon Philpott
Blog Entry: July 28, 2010

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