Funny Stuff

We are driving on the highway after a doctor appt for Judah. It’s late afternoon after a poor night’s sleep for me. I make the mistake of yawning.

“No yawning,” commands Judah from the back seat.

“Sorry, bud. Just wake me when we get home.”

“No! You can’t sleep!”

Judah is a big advocate for safety. He’s currently wearing his ‘PLEASE DON’T RUN ME OVER’ day-glo t-shirt (Adult S). It says that in the front AND back, but in front it’s backwards, like an ambulance — in case someone is backing up and looking in their rear view mirror. It’s a very fashionable and pragmatic shirt.

“I was kidding, bud,” I tell him. “It was a joke. I’m not really going to go to sleep.”

“Oh.”

I recognize that this is a teachable moment. Or what could be a teachable moment.

“You’re going to have to know when people are kidding, bud. Daddy has a dry sense of humor. Do you know what that means?”

“No.”

“It means I’ll say something funny in a very matter of fact way. Like when I said to wake me when we get home. I said it very plainly, like no big deal. But it was silly. There’s no way to drive when you’re sleeping, right? So I was making a joke.”