“Kidding is when both people can laugh at the joke.” – Ellen Degeneres
There is always such a fine line that you hope that you don’t cross over when the teasing and the kidding starts up. I am a kidder and I have a huge tendency to put my foot in my mouth, but I try to be sensitive. I can’t stand roasts. I think that they are awful. I try to be calm and laugh politely at jokes aimed at myself, because I don’t want to be in the “She can dish it out, but she can’t take it,” camp. I think it is healthy to be able to laugh at yourself. However, kidding is touchy. Still, I’d hate a world without any ribbing and fun. I’ve heard that people only tease other people whom they really like. When I was a young girl, teasing was supposed to be a gauge of how well a boy liked you. The first little boy who ever asked me to “go with him”, pushed me into some bushes first, which of course, made everyone else laugh. Perhaps there is some truth to that statement.
My kids loved to watch SpongeBob SquarePants when they were younger and I honestly liked watching it with them, too. Two or three episodes stick out in my mind – Patrick deciding SpongeBob was probably ugly and that’s why he was repelling other creatures (it turns out it was just his bad breath) and SpongeBob learning to drive – both of these episodes can still make me laugh until I cry. The other episode that applies to this blog is when SpongeBob decides to become a stand-up comedian and he finds out that his audience loves squirrel jokes. The only problem with this is, that SpongeBob’s best friend is Sandy, the squirrel. Obviously, SpongeBob has to learn the hard way that making jokes at the expense of your friend’s feelings, may mean the loss of your friend.
