A letter to my daughter.
May. 24th, 2005 07:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaDear Alex,
You have so much to learn about the world, and of course it is your Mama's duty to be your educator and guide. In that vein, let us discuss the principles of humor.
Irony is an extremely rich substance, most effective when applied in small, well-spaced doses. Do not be tempted to use too heavy a hand; in particular, repetition kills irony. Thus, staying awake half the night and then falling into a deep sleep just as Mama has to get up for the day, done once, will produce a wry smile at the vagaries of life. Done twice, it will merely produce swearing.
A time-honored form of humor is to set up certain dramatic expectations in one's audience and then violate them. Clearly you have mastered this principle. However, I must caution you that when you stay awake half the night and then fall into a deep sleep just as Mama has to get up for the day, and then you violate the expectations you have established by waking up hungry just as Mama sits down with her bowl of Cheerios, you run the risk of being perceived as mean.
Finally, although there are those who would argue that wretched excess is, in and of itself, funny: in the first place, that is one of the basest forms of humor, and in the second place, it was never meant to apply to diapers.
You have so much to learn about the world, and of course it is your Mama's duty to be your educator and guide. In that vein, let us discuss the principles of humor.
Irony is an extremely rich substance, most effective when applied in small, well-spaced doses. Do not be tempted to use too heavy a hand; in particular, repetition kills irony. Thus, staying awake half the night and then falling into a deep sleep just as Mama has to get up for the day, done once, will produce a wry smile at the vagaries of life. Done twice, it will merely produce swearing.
A time-honored form of humor is to set up certain dramatic expectations in one's audience and then violate them. Clearly you have mastered this principle. However, I must caution you that when you stay awake half the night and then fall into a deep sleep just as Mama has to get up for the day, and then you violate the expectations you have established by waking up hungry just as Mama sits down with her bowl of Cheerios, you run the risk of being perceived as mean.
Finally, although there are those who would argue that wretched excess is, in and of itself, funny: in the first place, that is one of the basest forms of humor, and in the second place, it was never meant to apply to diapers.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-24 01:05 pm (UTC)That's wickedly funny.
A.
(Who thinks you should spend a day in bed with Alex and some books soon if you haven't already. Baby, books, and snacks for both of you. As part of your new, not-killing-yourself regime).
no subject
Date: 2005-05-24 08:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-24 08:45 pm (UTC)I tend to forget how physically able most people are in the first few months after birth. Sorry.