One night as my partner and I were making dinner for a friend, we were all in the kitchen. We were bantering back and forth, and she said, “If I didn’t know you, I might feel awkward.”

Because we were teasing each other about silly pecadillos we have.

Like, although I do most of the cooking, am a darn good cook, and he loves to eat my cooking, if he walks into the kitchen and has an opinion, he’ll say it.

Without checking to see what I’m doing or why.

And it makes me smile.

Because I know it’s a personal habit, and it’s not about me.

I also know that different people have different levels of tolerance for those sorts of things. Our friend, thanks to past trauma has almost no tolerance for teasing.

I have a fairly high tolerance, and even then I don’t do it often, because I am conscious of how others feel about it, and that even good-natured teasing can hurt. And I don’t like to hurt people.

Ever.

I also know there are people whose entire relationships (it seems) is built on “negging,” or teasing/joking with each other constantly. It’s their love language.

That’s not for me. I’m more into sincerity. However, I don’t knock it FOR THEM. And this is dedicated to Barb & Jerry, who are one such couple. Their love and devotion is never in question, and their antics are much appreciated by those of us who love them both.