One of my favorite things to do in the world is make people laugh. Sometimes it becomes a challenge to try and make someone that doesn’t necessarily appreciate my sense of humor crack up. I’ll keep at it until I find something that works because gosh darn it I want you to think I’m funny.
My mother is my toughest audience. She is quite funny herself and she makes me laugh often, sometimes unintentionally. I don’t go out of my way to make her laugh because it’s pointless. She just doesn’t “get” my sense of humor. Often times it’s a language barrier. If I’m not being funny in Spanish she misses the nuances of my humor in English.
Every once in awhile, I am blessed to hear her laugh as a result of something that I said and I have to say it feels pretty good and I cherish those moments. One such moment happened when she had been visiting us in San Francisco awhile back. You should know my mom farts a lot. You should also know that she pronounces farts as “farks”. I have lots of “fark” stories involving my mom dating as far back as I can remember.
Anyway, I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and I heard my mother surreptitiously fart in another room. I’m pretty sure everyone in the house heard her fart, but she and everyone else were pretending like it hadn’t happened. I’m so used to my mom farting that for me it’s really no big deal, but I knew she was trying to be stealth and I couldn’t help myself. When she walked by me I said, “I don’t know why people say there is a shortage of gas when you have so much.” (Except I said it in Spanish.)
The was a moment of silence where it felt like it could go either way: she could take it as a joke or she could get really irritated with me for making fun of her. She looked me straight in the eye and held my gaze for what felt like an eternity, then burst into glorious laughter. I really felt like I had accomplished something that day: I made my mother laugh.
Likewise, my mom is a word class gas maker. I still recall our trip to SF together. Due to the extreme cost of hotels, we shared some tiny spaces. ‘Nuff said.
Your thrift store, wheelchair girl, farting story makes me laugh STILL!
Funny how it means so much when we “score” with a parent!
absolutely delightful post!
loved the ending of your story! I’m with eva gallant.
the fart story made me literally lol’
betty xx
Kudos to you for the laugh line and to your mom for laughing at it. I think if you are a big farter you have to have a sense of humor about it.
Love it! I love to make people really laugh, not just smile or chuckle but just burst out laughing. It’s the best!
I think we need some more farking stories.
Ahh, that’s great! Mom’s aren’t even immune to 4th grade boy humor. 🙂
Jon Stewart recently interview a comedian (don’t recall which one) who said farts are just naturally funny. I agree. Yes they can be very embarrassing and unwelcome visitors but typically the occurrence is funny at least afterward. They are very common.
Good thing you have a fresh sea breeze in SF.
Top thing on my to do list. Vote for UM every day! You go, girl!
Aww, you just put a huge smile on my face. Thank you for being so kind.
Hilarious! I love those moments that just come naturally but that actually WORK. 🙂
I feel the same way about my wife. She has a great sense of humor, but if I can get her to laugh out loud, I know I have said something truly funny. Rarely is it anything as funny as THIS though.
I like the way you say you appreciated your mom’s “glorious laughing”. “Farks” find themselves in every household, even if some people pretend otherwise. Ha.
I bet the laugh was powerfully deep and contagious, too. We love good fart stories our way, except the kids say ‘poot’. You know, because then no one else will know what we are discussing…
I’ve always know you were funny, farks or farts. I would have loved, however, to see your Mom laughing.
And of course, I voted!
🙂
Traci
Hooray for that accomplishment! You made me laugh.
Well that is so nice… making your mother laugh… NOT THE FARKS!
I just changed my shift at work to get away from my co-worker’s farts!
YES… seriously I did !!!
Too funny. My mother was an unintentional farter after suffering a stroke. She’d hobble along and this long string of musical gas would stream out of her hind region. After one such event, my husband (now ex but still good friend) looked her in the eye and requested that she now play Lady of Spain. There’s no disguising that “farks” are funny.
That is so strange: My mother is VERY hard to make laugh, too.
I only made her laugh once in my life, and I was so shocked when I heard it then I just stared at her, confused as to what I had just heard.
But it only happened once.