Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Not funny
We have discovered, as our children age, that it takes a long time for their senses of humor to develop. So far, they really only get body humor and slapstick. They're trying, however. While we were driving to church on Sunday, Joe and Priya decided to amuse themselves by telling knock-knock jokes. John and I were satisfied because they are finally old enough to tell knock-knock jokes to each other without requiring either of us to say the requisite, "Who's there?" and "Banana pants who?" In addition, we are no longer required to laugh at jokes which are, honestly, not at all funny.
Of course, the verbal nature of the knock-knock joke, which is what makes the joke work, is completely foreign to children for whom homonym might as well be a Spanish word as an English one. But they still try. And believe us--it's pathetic.
Anyway, Joe decided to tell Priya a knock-knock joke. It was, characteristically, not funny. But he laughed hysterically when he finished it. Priya, in turn, told him a knock-knock joke almost identical to the joke he had told her. He did not laugh. Instead, he told her that her knock-knock joke was not really funny.
"Well," she said, "yours wasn't funny either."
"Yes," he agreed, "but yours was not funny-er than mine." Just like that.
Priceless.
Of course, the verbal nature of the knock-knock joke, which is what makes the joke work, is completely foreign to children for whom homonym might as well be a Spanish word as an English one. But they still try. And believe us--it's pathetic.
Anyway, Joe decided to tell Priya a knock-knock joke. It was, characteristically, not funny. But he laughed hysterically when he finished it. Priya, in turn, told him a knock-knock joke almost identical to the joke he had told her. He did not laugh. Instead, he told her that her knock-knock joke was not really funny.
"Well," she said, "yours wasn't funny either."
"Yes," he agreed, "but yours was not funny-er than mine." Just like that.
Priceless.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Netti-pot
So last week I spent a day suffering from the painful experience of a clogged sinus. Since I'm pregnant, I'm not allowed to take the good stuff, and I was desperate to try anything "legal" that I could get my hands on to relieve the buildup of mucus inside my facial cavity. I bought a netti-pot and tried it out. Don't know if you've ever used a netti-pot before. It feels a lot like when you're body-surfing and a horrible wave washes over you and you inhale a whole bunch of salt water up your nose. You're supposed to dissolve the pre-packaged saline solution in warm water and put the netti-pot in one nostril. Then you tilt your head so that the solution flows in one nostril, through your sinuses, and out the other nostril. Fun!!!
Well, I was sitting in bed this evening, waiting for John to finish his post-basketball shower, when suddenly, from the direction of the bathroom, I hear a series of spluttering coughs and desperate attempts at nose-blowing. The last time I had used the netti-pot was in the shower (figured that the hot water PLUS the salt water ought to work twice as well). John had seen it sitting on the ledge and thought, "Hey, might as well try this out." Needless to say, he won't be making another foray into that branch of alternative medicine anytime soon.
"What were you thinking, leaving a netti-pot in the shower? As if I would know not to try it. It still burns," he kept exclaiming as he dried off and dressed after his shower. "Did you breathe through your mouth and block off the sinuses in the back of your throat?" I asked. "No. I just filled it up with salt and water and poured it in one nostril and it came out everywhere. You didn't tell me how to use it." I tried defending myself, "You didn't tell me you were going to try it." But that was no excuse, apparently.
Well, I was sitting in bed this evening, waiting for John to finish his post-basketball shower, when suddenly, from the direction of the bathroom, I hear a series of spluttering coughs and desperate attempts at nose-blowing. The last time I had used the netti-pot was in the shower (figured that the hot water PLUS the salt water ought to work twice as well). John had seen it sitting on the ledge and thought, "Hey, might as well try this out." Needless to say, he won't be making another foray into that branch of alternative medicine anytime soon.
"What were you thinking, leaving a netti-pot in the shower? As if I would know not to try it. It still burns," he kept exclaiming as he dried off and dressed after his shower. "Did you breathe through your mouth and block off the sinuses in the back of your throat?" I asked. "No. I just filled it up with salt and water and poured it in one nostril and it came out everywhere. You didn't tell me how to use it." I tried defending myself, "You didn't tell me you were going to try it." But that was no excuse, apparently.
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