Messing with People

For this post to make sense, you have to know that I share very little personal information with my students. I'm willing to chat about movies, TV, books, or whatever, but they don't know my son has Down Syndrome, they don't know I'm Mormon (well, most of them don't), and they don't know about my struggles on the job market. I don't think any of that is their business. We're friendly with each other, but they aren't my friends, and I'm not theirs. That's what makes this story fun.

Yesterday, my students asked how my Thanksgiving break had gone. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I said, "Well, my wife asked for a divorce, so what do you think?" The look of shock and horror on their faces was priceless. I love to mess with people (I enjoy asking people, "Are you calling me fat?" to see their reaction), and this was a good one. After about five seconds of totally hilarious awkwardness, I told them the truth. "I'm messing with you. I had a great weekend." Their sighs of relief were audible across the room.

For the record--my marital bliss has seldom been higher. I love my wife, and I love my children. But I couldn't resist making the joke.