Gersberms!

WARNING: This is likely the silliest, most ridiculous article I’ve ever written. My eyes are already watering with tears of anticipation. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Something really weird is on the internet right now. It’s a series of pictures that people are posting with really odd captions that – at first glance – don’t make any sense at all.

The translation? “Goosebumps. My favorite books.”

When my sister shared this with me I was at a total loss. Okaayyy… They can’t spell? I don’t get it.

And yet, after looking at it a few times, I got the giggles. Then I started randomly saying “Gersberms” to people and laughing hysterically. Even now, alone in my office, I’m giggling. Too weird. No rhyme or reason.

I was hooked, so I did a little research, and as far as I could gather, this strange trend came from someone who was recalling what it was like to wear a retainer, or to have just recently had orthodontic braces tightened. How it gave you a bit of a lisp, and you felt like if you just kept your jaw clenched, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so bad. The captions reflect this lisp-y, jaw-clenched pronunciation that many of us went through as adolescents.

Much to my delight, my sister provided me with two more examples of this trend. I decided that I absolutely MUST find an excuse to include them in this article.

So I thought long and hard, trying to think of life lessons that would align with these pictures. Here’s the best I came up with…

I had braces when I was young, and it was a necessary, but unpleasant experience. We have these experiences in life from time to time – having to fire someone, having to take on a less than ideal client, etc. But in the end, these experiences give us better alignment with what we really want, and, if nothing else, give us amusing horror stories to tell at cocktail parties.

Not my best work on the serious side of things, but ehrmahgerd! I still can’t stop laughing!