I made fun of my dad on Facebook the other day. It was
harmless and I did it with full knowledge that even though he’s not actually on
Facebook, my mother is and, therefore, he’d see it.
He was a bit surprised. I’m not sure why; I always make fun
of him and I’ve done it on Facebook before. He has a good sense of humor—I’ve
gotten some of my snarkiness from him (thanks Dad!)—and he doesn’t get offended
easily. If I thought there was any chance of him being embarrassed by what I
said, I wouldn’t have done it. Facebook is public, after all.
One of the reasons why I made fun of him was that it was
funny. It involved a phone conversation we had:
Actual phone conversation between me and my dad (who is not on FB--hee hee):
Me: Hello.
Him: Hi? What are you calling for?
Me: To say hi.
Him: Oh. You don't usually do that.
Me: Yes I do, you just don't usually answer the phone.
Him: Oh.
My dad is not a big telephone person. That’s not to say he
doesn’t like conversations; he just doesn’t use the phone for them. He’d much
rather have them in person. And believe me, we have lots of them. In fact,
after the above comments, we continued to have an actual conversation.
After I posted this on Facebook, several people empathized
with me by telling me their dads weren’t big conversationalists either. My dad
called to ask why I posted this and to joke about payback. I even responded to
some of the comments by sticking up for my dad’s conversation skills.
What most people failed to notice, and the real reason I posted
this on Facebook to begin with (aside from the fact that it’s funny) is that
it’s really a slam on me, not my dad. If you read this closely, you’ll realize
I’m showing a conversation where my dad it making fun of me for only calling
when I need something.
Okay, I’ll admit, I often do call my parents when I need something.
They live nearby and are extremely helpful. My dad it King when it comes to
carpooling and schlepping. But I also call just to check in and say hello, even
if he’s not aware of that.
In my opinion, the best Facebook jokes that I share are ones
that make fun of myself as well. I love laughing at myself. I am very
entertaining, at least to me, and laughing at myself prevents me from taking
myself too seriously.
Which really should be the point of Facebook, anyway!
*If you choose to ignore the warning, none of this is my
fault.
My daddy will text once in a while with things like Bird Nose, Frog Lips, or Baboon butt. These are his little ways of checking in, saying he's thinking of me, and that he loves me. I love daddy's with a great sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteHe sounds funny! Love it--thanks for stopping by.
DeleteNot sure how my dad would act toward all this techie stuff. My dad been gone for years. Anyhow I would guess he would real be in to techie stuff..He would sit and read the dictionary.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Sounds wonderful!
DeleteHi Jennifer...love your post. I'm always a big fan of making fun of myself, but a lot of folks think that's a sign of insecurity. I'm always had a weight problem and figure if I address the "elephant in the room," no one else has to. :)
ReplyDeleteGinger, I make fun of myself all the time. Makes people laugh and then they're laughing with me, rather than at me. Plus, it tends to put people at ease.
Delete