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People can't get enough of this grandma's reaction after watching the grandkids for 6 days

"She said, 'don’t call me, I will call you.'"

Canva Photos

Melissa Beeler's mother-in-law was absolutely fried after watching the kids for a week.

Parents need a break. They need a little quiet, a little adult time, a little respite where tiny hands aren't grabbing at them and demanding snacks. They need time for romance and connection with their partner. It's all extremely necessary for them to come back with a full cup and actually be a good parent to their kids. Family vacations don't count, as they're hardly relaxing for parents. It's just the usual rigors of parenting in an exotic location! Sometimes, all parents just need to get away by themselves, even for just a short date night.

Grandparents, to the rescue! Well, sometimes, anyway. There's been a lot of debate in the news lately about why grandparents are spending less time wit the grandkids (is it called babysitting?) than ever. Part of it is that more and more older adults of grandparenting age are still working and don't have the free time to provide childcare. Those that are willing and able to help out are absolute superheroes. But even heroes have their limits.

Melissa Beeler recently shared footage on TikTok that all parents can relate to. As she and her husband pull up after returning from vacation, grandma (who has been watching the kids for a week) has the most hilarious reaction.


grandparents, parents, parenting, kids, babysitting, family, love, grandma, grandpaGrandma Mimi needed a drink after the week she had.Giphy

Simply put, grandma (or Mimi, as they call her) was ready to hightail it out of there the second mom and dad got home. And no one can blame her.

Melissa and her husband Ryan had left Mimi in charge of not only three kids, but two puppies, while they went on a weeklong cruise. That's right, one whole week.

Understandably, Mimi is shown quite literally booking it to her car. Her bags were ready to go. She had one foot out the door. And once Melissa and her husband were within sight, she was gone. The speed at which she made her escape would have made Usain Bolt proud.

"Where are you going, Mimi?" Beeler calls out. "Mimi's ready to go," she mumbles to her husband, then adding, "Thank you!"

All parents will recognize Mimi's exhausted, frantic escape walk shown in the video:


@melissabeeler2

Her bags were packed & she was ready to go. ✌️ #couples #parents #husbandwife #funny #relatable

The video went viral on TikTok where viewers just couldn't get enough of their new hero, Mimi. Commenters had plenty of jokes about Mimi's mental state after a week of taking care of 5 unruly creatures:

"Grandma is going straight to the bar"

"Mimi will probably be right back over there tomorrow, but today she's done."

"She doesn’t care how your vacation was she doesn’t want to hear about it."

"She said don’t call me I will call you"

"Mimi needs a whole pitcher margarita"

Some people had similar stories of their own:

grandparents, parents, parenting, kids, babysitting, family, love, grandma, grandpaThree kids is a lot for any grandma to handleGiphy

"My aunt watched my 4yo while I went to a wedding over the weekend. I came back and she said 'I love her to death but she and I need time apart for a looong while after this'"

"My Mom watched my three for 3 hours while I went to a funeral, they were 2, 1, 1. She had her jacket and purse on when I walked in the door, the literally pushed past me in the doorway saying, 'It’s too much, LOUISE, too much.' I didn’t hear from her for just over a month"

"Haha! This is what my mom does too! She’s enjoyed her time but now it’s time to go"

You love to see the dedication. As many commenters pointed out, grandparents like Mimi love to be involved, help out, and spend time with the grandkids, but when they're done, they're done. That doesn't mean they won't come right back to spoil them some more when they've regained their energy.

The reaction also illuminates how parents feel pretty much all the time and why the Surgeon General put out an advisory about the mental health of America's moms and dads. If Mimi was wrecked after a week, imagine how mom and dad feel!

Obviously, running after little kids is a lot more taxing when you're in your 60s or 70s. And yes, yes, of course, if you choose to have kids, you know what you're signing up for. But that doesn't make it easy. No siree.

The Beelers know exactly how lucky they are to have such a wonderful grandma who's just a phone call away, though they might need to give Mimi a much deserved break before their next weeklong vacation.

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Celebrity

Justin Timberlake hilariously surprises airline passengers by getting on the overhead speaker

"It's gonna be lit."

Images via Canva and Wikicommons

Justin Timberlake was ready to make every seat first class

Imagine you're on a flight to Argentina, getting settled into your seat and preparing for a boring (albeit important) safety rule announcement. Suddenly, a familiar voice pops up on the overhead speakers and you think… "Wait… that's not… could that be?" Why yes, it isJustin Timberlake, and he's ready to give you safety instructions and the flight route, usually delivered by the pilot.

Timberlake is continuing his "The Forget Tomorrow World Tour", his first world tour in five years. Of course, he's playing lots of hits, but the tour is to support his latest album Everything I Thought it Was, his sixth studio record.

On Justin's TikTok, posted on March 19th, we see him clad in a mint green hoodie with splashes of orange and darker green print, baggy trousers, and sneakers. He takes to the flight attendant's interphone with a sheet of instructions and begins: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to JT Live South American Leg."

@justintimberlake

South America, we’re coming for you!

The phone camera pans to the somewhat attentive, though possibly confused, rows of passengers and a flash of his name on the back of a seat. He continues while the flight attendants demonstrate how to use the life jackets, "The lifejacket is located in the pouch at the side of your seat. To inflate the lifejacket, pull firmly on the red toggles. If you have any questions, please keep them to yourselves."

This gets only a small laugh, so he verifies, "Oh, we're just kidding. Please ask the crew."

He then proceeds to share the flight path. "We will be flying over the beautiful countries of the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, until we make our way into Argentina." Adding, "We thank you for flying JT Live 25 Air — it’s gonna be lit."

This is met by clapping and cheers from many passengers, though others remain seemingly disinterested.

The TikTok comments, however, were filled with true fans. "You know what? There's nothing he can't do," says one. Another exclaims, "I'd give anything to be on that plane with him."

And this person hopes it means that Justin is adding something new to his already full career plate: "OK, so this is a preview of you narrating audiobooks for us, am I right? Please say I’m right!"

But there's more. Whether the reactions were good or indifferent on the actual flight didn't stop Justin from having a blast. At one point, he decides to use the aisle as his own personal putting green. With his putter, he gently hits a golf ball down the aisle, then excitedly takes a back-and-forth victory run, high-fiving some people on the way.

This was also shared on Justin's TikTok, underscored by a recording of the "Better than Most" PGA commentary when Tiger Woods famously made a 60-foot putt at TPC Sawgrass.

@justintimberlake

We love you, Big 🐅!!! Get well soon!

We hear, "I have seen a number of players putt from the back of this green. And the results have not been good." Justin takes the shot, then runs the aisle, and we hear, "Well, that's better than most. Better than most! You could hit that putt 50 times, and maybe make it once."

Adam Sandler Golf GIFGiphy

Again, the comment section blew up. "Imagine tryna nap on your flight and wake up to JT playing golf." And yet another suggestion for Justin's career? "JT needs to make a Happy Gilmore 2 cameo!"

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Pop Culture

Italian gibberish song from 1972 offers uncanny impression of the English language

If you've ever wondered what English sounds like to non-speakers, look no further.

Le Pietre Rotolanti/YouTube, @HarrietMould/Twitter
In 1972, an Italian singer wrote a hit song with English-sounding gibberish and it's so trippy

You've probably heard plenty of people doing impressions of other languages, speaking gibberish that sounds vaguely Chinese, French, or German. However problematic and offensive those impressions might sometimes be, it speaks to the fact that every language leans on certain sounds, cadences, and vocal inflections that help define it. Even if we can't speak or even understand those languages, we often inherently understand those key markings.

But have you ever wondered what it might sound like if someone were to speak in gibberish that sounded kind of like English? Even better, what if someone sang a whole song that sounded like a jazzy, upbeat American bop — without using any actual English words? If so, you're in luck!

Apparently, a song many of us have never heard of shot to the top of the charts in Italy in 1972 for the most intriguing reason. The song, written and performed by Adriano Celentano and is called "Prisencolinensinainciusol" which means...well, nothing. It's gibberish. In fact, the entire song is nonsense lyrics made to sound like English, and oddly, it does.


mary poppins, silly songs, music, musicals, songs, gibberish, funnyPrisencolinensinainciusol is the new SupercalifragilisticexpialidociousGiphy

Occasionally, you can hear what sounds like a real word or phrase here and there—"eyes" and "color balls died" and "alright" a few times, for example—but it mostly just sounds like English without actually being English. It's like an auditory illusion and it does some super trippy things to your brain to listen to it.

Here, Celentano performs the song in all of its glory, in a bizarre but passionate display. You just have to watch and listen to fully appreciate the artistry on display here:


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Wow, right? In a 2012 interview on NPR's All Things Considered, Celentano explained how the silly pop song came about.

"Ever since I started singing, I was very influenced by American music and everything Americans did," he told Guy Raz, through interpreter Sim Smiley.

"So at a certain point, because I like American slang—which, for a singer, is much easier to sing than Italian—I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate," he said. "And to do this, I had to write a song where the lyrics didn't mean anything."

In fact, Celentano didn't even write down any lyrics for the song at first, but just improvised the sounds. And people didn't appear to care. "Prisencolinensinainciusol" reached number one on the charts not only in Italy, but also in France, Germany, and Belgium.

adriana celentano, italian singer, singer, opera, rock and roll, funny musicA young Adriano Celentano singing on stageBy Collezione Biblioteca Comunale G.D. Romagnosi, Salsomaggiore Terme, Public Domain,

Celentano is known for a lot more than just his English gibberish. He's been an incredibly unique and innovative talent in the Italian music scene, credited with bringing new moves and flavors of dancing and also introducing rock and roll to Italy. He's also a renowned actor, having appeared in dozens of comedy films. If you watch the performance above, you'll see how his physical, goofball style could fit right into a slapstick movie.

He's also a serious musicians, quite often considered one of the most prolific and influential artists in Italian history.

Celentano's ability to sound like he's singing in English without actually saying anything in English is pretty impressive. Especially when you hear him sing in Italian, like this:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Adriano Celentano is still alive and well as of this writing, kicking around at the ripe age of 87. A fun fact to consider after watching his brilliant English gibberish: Celentano can not actually speak English! In a 2009 interview he admits to trying to learn the language but finding it extremely difficult (same, honestly). But his deep study did lead to his absolutely incredible mimicry of the sounds and cadences of English.

Languages are fun. And funky. And frustrating when you don't understand them. Celentano was purposefully making a point with "Prisencolinensinainciusol" to break down language barriers and inspire people to communicate more. Whether he succeeded in doing that or not, it sure is entertaining to see him try.

This article originally appeared five years ago.

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Steve Carell calls into high school assembly and announces he's buying 800 students' prom tickets

Carrell did a great thing, but that didn't stop him from going full Michael Scott.

alicewillhelp/Instagram

Steve Carell announces free prom tickets for seniors affected by southern California wildfires.

Actor Steve Carell showed up in a big way for high school students affected by the recent wildfires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles. The Office actor, 62, partnered with charity Alice's Kids (@alicewillhelp), to pay for all seniors to attend prom at six different high schools in Altadena, California.

According to Alice's Kids founder and executive director Ronald "Ron" Fitzsimmons, Carell will be sending about 800 seniors to prom for free. Fitzsimmons told USA Today that Alice's Kids will donate about $175,000 in total.

The uplifting news was shared via Alice's Kids Instagram page, with a personal message from Carell that was played at each high school via video projection in auditoriums. "A special message from our friend Steve Carell. Right now, this is being viewed by every senior at the six high schools in Altadena, CA!! @stevecarellofficial," the video's caption reads.

“Attention. Attention all seniors. This is Steve Carell with a very special announcement. I work with a wonderful charity based out of Virginia called Alice’s Kids. And Alice’s Kids wanted me to let you know that they will be paying for all of your prom tickets,” he said in the video. “And if you have already paid for your prom tickets, they will reimburse you for your prom tickets. It’s a pretty good deal. Have fun. Enjoy the prom, and remember, this is Steve Carell.”

Fans of The Office will notice that the video is a subtle nod to the hit NBC show, where Carell played boss Michael Scott. During a 2009 episode from the sitcom titled "Scott's Tots," he promises to pay the college tuition for a group of third graders if they graduate. But when the time comes to cough up the cash, he doesn't have it. Thankfully, Carell's donation to Altadena students had a different outcome.

The video got an overwhelming response from viewers, many who caught on to The Office reference. "'Hey Mr. Scott! Whatcha gon’ do? Whatcha gon’ do? Make our dreams come true!' This is beautiful," one wrote. Another commented, "Love this! Scott’s Tots for the win!" And another added, "Scott’s tots is coming true!!"

Another wrote, "thank you so much for blessing our students at Pasadena HS with an unforgettable night of memories ✨️🌹🙏🏼." And another shared, "What a thoughtful way to celebrate kids who’ve lost so much!"

One viewer was also personally impacted: "THANK YOU FOR THIS!! MY SISTER IS ABLE TO GO TO PROM!!🫶🫶🫶," they wrote. still another added, "Thank you @alicewillhelp and @stevecarellofficial on behalf of my Muir Senior 💙💛🐴🙏🏽. You all are awesome!!!!! 👏🏽"

Fitzsimmons told USA Today that Carell and his wife, Nancy, have been involved with the organization for over seven years. The idea to donate tickets to prom came after making numerous calls to schools affected by the wildfires.

"That's when I thought, 'Well, let's do something later on. Later on, all the charities will be gone. The kids who are seniors will be going off somewhere,'" Fitzsimmons told the publication. "So that's when I thought, 'What can we do to lift them a little bit in a few months from now?' That's when the idea of prom tickets came up."

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