Comments on: I come from funny people

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:21:44 +0000

The obvious thing to say is that my father gave us music, especially classical music of many kinds; and my mother made us sports fans. My love of verbal expression is his, mostly, with a strong inpouring of word games and puzzles from her.

But overall, I think the big lesson/value was our very diversity. All five kids have different personalities, tastes, and skills, and we were each encouraged to do what we loved and were good at. It still makes a nice mix.

By: Fillyjonk

Fillyjonk — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:05:25 +0000

From my sister’s (hilarious) speech at my wedding: “I’ve often wondered, if it weren’t for my mom, would anybody know my dad was funny?”

Quiet wit and matriarchy. That’s pretty much my upbringing in a nutshell.

By: Stupendousness

Stupendousness — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:48:10 +0000

As a parental unit, my mom and dad emphasized being responsible, which went hand-in-hand with working hard.

But, my mom also clearly valued humor, especially sarcasm. She didn’t like resting on her laurels until everything was in order, but then she was ready to laugh and dance.

I think my siblings and I are funny as a group. I also like to think I’m pretty funny on my own, but my attempts at humor pale in comparison to my sister.

I’m definitely responsible and hard working though. I can’t stand being late, missing deadlines, letting people down, losing things, being disorganized, etc.

By: magicbean

magicbean — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:40:54 +0000

My family was all about self-reliance, no whining, patience, DIY, simplicity, and getting out to see the world yourself. There was no other option, so it wasn’t really communicated in any clear way. My parents (I love them dearly) are not conscious of much, so it was just communicated in the way they were in the world.

I wish we had Teh Funny, but no, that is a family quality in serious deficiency. At least I have the skills to BUILD TEH FUNNY MYSELFS WIF MY BARE HANZ. And a couple of sticks.

By: MelissaJane

MelissaJane — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:41:00 +0000

Oh, interesting post. I’ve been thinking about funny as a family value recently, as it has dawned on me what a strong priority comedy is for my husband’s family. Being funny is just very important to them; it was important to my husband that he found me funny, and already I can see how much we reward our two-and-a-half-year-olds for being funny.

I come from Yankee stoics, and stoicism is probably our – well, their – most dearly held quality. I never had the same sort of reverence for the stiff upper lip that everyone else in my family does, and I never saw why it was such a major sin to Reveal Information About the Family to those outside it. I don’t know why it didn’t take with me, but it didn’t, and I spent decades groping towards the realization that I didn’t have to share that particular way of relating to the world.

My husband’s family is crazy in many ways, but I’m more comfortable with their emoting all over the landscape than I am with our own worship at the shrine of Everything’s Fine.

By: veronica

veronica — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:34:35 +0000

I think we must have valued serving one’s community. My dad was in the Army (til the buyout of 92) and my mom’s a teacher. Both are ways of serving one’s community, putting the safety of today and the future of tomorrow first. Both have “suffered” financially because of their decisions to take low paying but otherwise rewarding jobs.
Probably explains why I gravitate towards mental health counseling in conjunction with possible military service.
One sister is in the nursing field.
Another is studying to be a teacher but also thinks about going into law and working at a nonprofit.

We were totally public servants before it became the hip/cool thing to do and the rise of Obama.

By: bluemoose

bluemoose — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:30:00 +0000

My FOO is bonded by the sarcasm. Oh, the sarcasm. Sadly, my brother does not have the sarcasm — he generally just looks confused by it. It is difficult when you don’t retain the qualities your FOO values — I, for example, do not possess the coordination of the rest of my athletically-inclined family.

By: Brooke

Brooke — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:33:34 +0000

Teh Funny wasn’t as much a part of my upbringing, but I find I’ve become something of a Borscht-belt dad. I noticed some time back that my boy has pretty slick comic timing, and I’ve tried to encourage it, even teaching him routines with which to kill Mommy when she gets home. When I hurt my heel and started gimping around the apartment, I taught him the “walk this way” sight gag. He also likes for me to be the Second Banana in the classic exchanges:
“Would you like to join me in a cup of soup?” “Sure, do you think we’ll both fit?”
Or,
“Would you like to join me?”
“Why, are you coming apart?”

I think that the reason he indulges me is that he has a natural grasp of the basic insight that making someone laugh is an act of pure love.