A Fresh, Young Comedian
The 3-year-old is currently in one of my favorite stages. The best way to describe it is to say he’s in the 3-year-old comedian phase. And this kid has come up with some comedy gold.
For example, we’re at the pool and he’s paddling around in his water wings. It’s the first time he’s been willing to move around in the water on his own and he’s enjoying the attention of me watching him. Then, apropos of nothing he shouts to me, “Dad! I’m not an alphabet!”
There is no proper response to this other than laughter. Even if you don't like absurdist comedy he made the ridiculous observation with such energetic and contagious hilarity you would have laughed too.
He’s also invented comedic phrases that make the audience go wild. If we’re driving somewhere in the van and things are quasi-quiet all he has to do is shout, “banana honk!” and there erupts a riotous clamor of laughing and mimicking cries of, “banana honk!” from his brothers.
I have no idea what this means, why he decided it was the thing to say, or how he knew it was the perfect phrase to tickle his brothers’ funny bones, but he certainly did.
In the 3-year-old comedian stage the boys often start workshopping material when they have your attention. You can tell, because they tend to exaggerate their gestures or even fake laugh at what they’re saying to see if it will make you laugh too.
To whit, the 3-year-old gets out of the bathtub as it’s draining and then proudly tells me, “My head can’t fit down the drain --- it’s too bigger!” I'm pretty sure this was an attempt at self-deprecating humor. And seeing as this apple’s lollipop size head didn't fall far from the lollipop head tree I think he’s onto something.
There are times when your eyes give you away as a parent. Three-year-olds (comedians or otherwise) are masters at determining what your mood or thoughts are by looking at your eyes. I don’t know if it’s because they haven't learned much about other body language, or because they’ve spent so much time only looking at eyes and faces as babies, but it is remarkable that they can read a laugh in your eyes even when there isn’t a smile on your face.
Anyway, the 3-year-old starting doing what his brothers call the captain salute where he looks at me, holds his right hand up (backward) like a salute, and says, “Captain, sa-woot!” while grinning.
It kills me. Something in the mispronunciation of salute, and the higher tone he uses at the end just cracks me up. And he read the amusement in my eyes instantly. I have now been “sa-wooted” more times than I can count. And I laugh every time.
Which goes to show this 3-year-old comedian has learned the most important thing about comedy that many professional comedians still struggle with. If you know your audience you can get a laugh out of almost anything.