at a loss...

With a last name like mine, you learn to have a sense of humor about it all.

It's "Loss". I suppose it could indeed be worse. Anything with "butt" in the name, for example. Growing up, I heard wonderful questions such as:

"Loss...did you find yourself?"
"Are you at a loss for words?" (Ironically, this is rare within my family)

However, as I got older I learned to embrace my name...case in point, I chose to revert back to my maiden name after my divorce. Some may argue that I did it to symbolize the closing of that chapter of my life. But the truth is: I truly am a "Loss" not just in name, but also due to a fascinating little thing called DNA.

I mentioned sense of humor previously; this, along with sinus infections, is a prominent Loss trait. My dad used to cut out newspaper clippings about our famous "relatives" such as Tax Loss and Hair Loss. I suspect that, during my brother's and my childhood, this was used this as some sort of coping mechanism. As we all know, kids can be cruel.

Oddly enough, in my adult life I find myself pointing out similar occurences on the tv. Due to the economic downturn, Corporate Loss has been in the news quite frequently. Just last week when the Packers lost to the Bucs (tee hee), Embarrassing Loss and Devastating Loss decided to make a visit to Wisconsin. Thanks to shows like the Biggest Loser, Weight Loss has gained popularity. And Hair Loss seems to be the unwanted visitor that stays with many men in their 40s and beyond.

Yes, we got a laugh out of it then and continue to get a laugh out of it now. Thus, we learned a valuable lesson: if you're laughing at yourself, it's less likely that others will. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen. However, I seem to live by that credo on most days, which may explain why I'm usually willing to make an ass of myself.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the other credo, "R Loss is your gain".