(My family is playing ‘You don’t say’, which is kind of like taboo where you describe a word without saying it. My gay middle brother is describing a word for my oldest brother.)

Middle brother: “Okay. If I light myself on fire then I am…?”

Oldest brother: *shouting* “…a flaming homosexual!”

Mom: “I’ve been eating a lot of plain baked chicken and I’m getting kind of tired of it—and you know dad won’t eat it. Last night, I decided to put bread crumbs on the chicken before I baked it and it turned out great. Dad even liked it.”

Me: “That’s great.”

Mom: “I think tonight I am going to try it again, but this time without the bread crumbs to see what it tastes like.”

Me: “Like plain baked chicken?”

Mom: “Oh, right. Haha!”

(My brothers and I tend to tease each other any chance we get. We’re all having dinner at our parents’ house. My mom is describing something funny the new puppy has done.)

Me: “You know, I read online about this dog intelligence test—”

Brother: *without skipping a beat* “Did you pass?”

Me: “Mom, do I have a bruise on my side?”

Mom: “No, why?”

Me: “I was talking to my boyfriend and walking backwards, and walked right into his side mirror.”

Mom: “You know you can’t do that! Walking and talking is a no-no for you!”

(We are watching the ending credits of an older movie at home with the family. It is common for movies of that era to have say “Filmed in Panavision” in the credits. )

Mom: *completely serious* “We should really plan a trip to Panavision. They seem to film a lot of movies there!”