Family Humour

I was never a "Seinfeld" or "The Simpson's" fan. I preferred "Frasier". Then again, my humour is all over the map - from "Burns and Allen", "Wayne and Shuster" and Victor Borge to "Looney Toons", "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and "Animaniacs" to "Maude", "Barney Miller" and "Soap"!!

I come from a family that is pretty good with quick come backs and smart remarks. My dads side of the family is more jokes/funny stories and my moms was more dry wit/puns. How's that for variety? Sometimes the humour goes over the other persons head but we never purposely set out to hurt the other person. Usually you can sense pretty quickly if the person has a sense of humour and if they can take a joke. My humour has occasionally gotten me in trouble (misinterpretations) but usually it helps others feel more comfortable around me. Sometimes you have the perfect line and you can't use it because the other person just won't understand - that can be so frustrating!

I hate when I can't think of the perfect comeback or when you think of it later! I also hate knowing what to say and for whatever reason not being able to say it! Humour really gets me through a lot of tough times and it has also helped me make some very good friends!

There are so many stories that I could tell about my families sense of humour! One of our families favourite's was always played on a first time guest at a meal or over coffee/snacks - especially if it was a date's first time there. Whichever of us kids had invited the guest would say semi-quietly "would you like some more to eat?". Usually the person would respond quietly, saying something along the lines of "no thanks, I'm fine" To which we would reply "DID YOU SAY YOU DIDN'T LIKE MOM'S COOKING?" We'd all stare for a few seconds then start laughing. It was our way of seeing just how well they could take a joke and if they would fit in with our zingers. Most guests returned many times and if they brought someone with them, they would carry on the tradition.

Some people were really thrown, but that was the whole point - to see what their level of humour was. It was a great form of initiation. Once they were over the shock, they were cracking zingers with the rest of us or they didn't come back even if we promised to behave! It was our version of "when in Rome...do as the Romans do."

Humour is such a huge part of my upbringing that it drives me nuts if I can't be funny around the people I care about.

So, if I crack smart remarks around you, consider yourself a friend with a sense of humour. If I'm more serious around you, well please don't take it personally, I'm probably just trying to figure out where your funny bone is hiding!

dn