Family Fun

I have a loud family. When we get together there is talking, laughing, and hand gesturing. That is not to say we don't have our quiet moments also. At the beach everyone sitting quietly reading. However, when we snack or eat, there is talking, laughing, and yes, teasing. We have running jokes and silliness as all families do.

There is the long standing flatulence humor regarding my father. My sister Gayle and I have some inside sayings that will get us in fit of giggles in no time. I would have to say though that the one who gets the most teasing is my mother. We love her and tease her. Each of us has gaffs we make or misunderstandings and we all get ribbed about it. It does seem though that we chuckle at things mom has done more than the rest of us. I fear as my nickname is sometimes "Little Joyce", I am following in her footsteps as the one to be teased the most in the future. I can take it, unless I start to cry because I am a crybaby. (which I get teased about) I cannot go into all the family stories of silly things I have done or others have done which make us all laugh.

I will today share the story of another well meaning grandmother who I am with this week. If she were my mother, she would be teased ALL week and then some. She is lucky she has only one child here. It is much easier to tease in a mob,(I have 4 siblings)because you get the joy of bouncing jokes off each other. This is the tale of "Wind Breaker". I share it with you because, it is something easily my mother couls have done.

A group of us were out shopping. My grandmother friend had agreed to search for playdough for a grandchild. We went to many shops and she found something she felt was a enough like playdough. It was brightly colored and in a container. She bought one for each child in the house. Upon returning, we are unloading and I see this product. It is indeed pretty and looks like a slime/silly puddy product. I look closer and see that the container calls the product "Wind Breaker". I start to think, uh oh. I ask the grandmother,"Did you know this puddy is meant to make farting noises?" (of course she did not) Well we all discuss it, and since it was for the youngest most of all and he can't read it should be fine. (there are instructions on the container of how to actually get the best ?#@!? noise)

We were of course, wrong. We show the children the "playdough" and give instructions to keep it at the kitchen counter. It takes no more than a minute for the group to read the side and begin emitting fart sounds like crazy. The joy of calm, quiet creativity, that had been intended was squelched by air bubble noise and giggling. There was some "find dad and make the noise and say, Daaadd!" type stuff.

Thankfully, the sounds of farts gets boring fairly quickly for girls, and boys when they are say, not 9 years old. Fairly swiftly the puddy was put aside. The adults still chuckled over the purchase and the sayings on the container,"Wind Breaker - hearing is believing!" and "Caution - do not take to church, avoid classroom use, keep away from family gatherings"

If this event had happened with my family, I have no doubt this product would be used and abused all week.(Do we all remember the marshmellow shooters anyone?) I had pictures in my head of how many times someone would "wind break" at opportune times. I also know that the grandmother in my family, had SHE bought it, would NEVER live it down.