"I Gotcha Last."

My childhood was filled with good-natured pranks and teasing.  If properly executed, a good prank or tease will, eventually, be as amusing to the recipient as it was to the prankster.  My mother was a proud practitioner of this type of behavior and she instilled an appreciation for a good joke in us, as well.  She was rather sophisticated in her efforts, as opposed to her offspring, though. We relied mostly, on hiding around corners and jumping out to scare one another.  My mother was a little more creative than us, and as a result, her pranks got the big laughs.

My two brothers, for example, were each the recipients of uncooked eggs packed in their school lunches.  Their lunch mates were always appreciative of my mother’s efforts, when the boys would crack their “hard-boiled” eggs and discover that they had been mistaken about the hard-boiled part.  I myself, once had a lunch packed with sponge bread, very realistic in its appearance, which was accompanied by real bologna and mustard. It proved very challenging to chew.  Then, there was my uncle's surprise birthday sheet-cake that was made from a kneeling pad used for gardening. It was artfully frosted and served to him, while he was onstage, at the nightspot he played piano at.  He had the staff bring him a knife, as he regaled the audience about his love for his dear sister, and his appreciation for the beautiful cake that she had presented him with.  When the first knife failed to cut the cake, he requested that a staff member bring him a sharper one; blaming the blade’s dullness for his lack of success.  It took several more attempts, along with the sound of my mother's laughter, before he realized that it was not the knife's dullness, but rather, his own that was causing the problem.

Following in my mother's footsteps, my friend Anna and I once left a very realistic looking mouse inside the drawer of one of the teller cages, at the bank where we were employed.  It was discovered in the morning by a teller, who, unfortunately, did not share our senses of humor, and we were both reprimanded for our actions; the reprimand was accompanied by a wink and a smile from a superior though, who did. Tellers' birthdays were also fertile ground for pulling gags, and one entered the bank with great trepidation, whenever ones birthday fell upon a workday.

I have now, also, indoctrinated my own children into this beloved pastime.  I once hid on the floor of our home's kitchen pantry closet, crouched down underneath its bottom shelf for over 20 minutes, and then, leapt out at poor Gina as she walked by, unsuspectingly. She was not amused; nor, did not even express any admiration for the incredible lengths I had gone to for that particular prank!  Always good sports, the girls have pulled their share of pranks on me as well, though.  Recently, Olivia informed me that I had accidentally set my hair on fire when, while dusting, I leaned in a little too close to a lit candle on a table.  Gina and Olivia dissolved into laughter as I hurriedly slapped my head in an effort to put out the non-existent flames.

I believe that this may be the reason why we all enjoy the ridiculous feature on Facebook, which provides each member with the ability to give the proverbial “poke” in the arm, so similar to what we used as children to annoy our siblings.  I am embarrassed to say how hard I have laughed at the thought of irritating my online friends, and also amused at how quickly that they always respond back! It is the lightness of childhood, available in one of its most modern forms, that has given us each the pleasure of saying, "I gotcha last" with such mischievous delight.  We might be adults now, but that doesn't mean we have grown up.  Blessings ~ Amycita ~ *Additional note to online friends:  I gotcha last!! Ha!