02/16/2026
February 16, 2026 - Monday Musings
What do you call a fish without eyes?
Fsh.
Ha, ha, ha, ha! š¤£
We all know a bad (ahem, dad) joke or two, right?
And we often use them in social situations to ease the awkwardness.
Why?
Because, according to Ian Brodie and Moira Marsh, two professors of folklore, dad jokes ā...represent a dad at his most annoying, but also at his best: warm, silly and loving.ā
Iām not a dad, but I do have a few dad-esque jokes that I can remember and whip out in a pinch if Iām feeling awkward.
And they get a laugh (or a groan), usually from me because I think theyāre hilarious, and the ice is broken, or the conversation picks up, and the moment is eased.
I often find myself in awkward situations (Iām a white chick living in Kigali, Rwanda) and so I often find myself in situations where I want to ease the tension and get a laugh.
But when I coach, I know I need to lean into the awkward and not go for the laugh, but wait in patient silence. To allow my clients to have that moment of quiet. To give them the space to think or formulate or just be.
So while laughter is the best medicine, āThe quieter you become, the more you can hear." (Ram Dass).