What Do You Do When You Run Out of Jokes?
I have found that I am a creature who does well with being able to impress others and make them laugh. This condition I have must tap into the basic human needs that supposedly everyone has built-in, like the need to be loved, the need to be wanted, the need to be important to others, or something (I think I read a book once or an article, or maybe learned it in school…anyway…)
You all can probably remember the people in school that just didn’t seem comfortable unless they were impressing someone, or making them laugh? Somewhere between “attention whore” and “shy”? I think that’s me. I think it always has been. I don’t think it’s entirely bad though, but it could get ugly if left unchecked.
So let’s say, just for the sake of argument (HA!), that I’m a funny guy, and that I’m relatively smart, clever and can impress people with what I know, say and do. What’s a person to do if they have used all of their jokes and knowledge and clever ideas on their family members? Like, when you only get a pity laugh or a roll of the eyes that tells you that the joke has worn thin, what’s a guy to do? What do you do when you run out of jokes?
Do you suck it up and live with the lack of fulfilling that need? Or do you have to figure out new ways to tell the same jokes? New ways to point over at McKinley High School and say, “That’s my school!”? New ways to mess with your kids’ heads?
Apparently so. I have this thing I have always done to all my kids where I pretend to not understand what they are saying, and repeat back something silly that sounds close to what they said. It drives them nuts! Usually I can get away with this for a good while, and it’s all in good fun. A couple of days ago, I did it again on Zack and he actually got upset. It wasn’t like I pushed it too far, compared to what I normally do. He was just done with the game, I guess. He didn’t freak out on me or yell or anything, just clammed up. A little later I asked him directly if I upset him and he truthfully replied, “yeah, a little” in his “not happy” voice. I was shocked and sad that I would do anything to upset my kid, so I quickly apologized and tried to make things right with him. Of course, sometimes making things right means giving them some time, so i did. I also ended up gaining points with him after I started cooking the eggs for the loco mocos for dinner that night. He LOVES eggs and loco mocos!
Simple stuff, really. I just need to watch more closely to my kids reactions to my quirkiness, because of course I do not mean to offend, especially my little ones, and I will be on the lookout to do better.
I’ve noticed that I can do the same thing to adults too, and not just in my family! I have a friend who laid it out for me the other day to take easy on the jibes. Good feedback, really. I mean, who wants to be that guy that people avoid because he is completely insensitive? I don’t want that to be me.
Just some stuff I have been thinking about lately.
Josh™
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