If you asked anyone in my family, teasing one another is just a part of life.

I’ve been told before by some of my friends that we’re a funny family. We never fail to make people laugh. We have a hilarious family dynamic. We know where to draw the line between funny and mean.

My mom is especially good at teasing us in a way that even I, as an honestly stubborn college student, can’t help but laugh at. But as much as she teases, my favorite quality about her is how she can take it and laugh when we tease her.

One of my favorite examples of this happened when the four of us sat around the dinner table a couple years ago, and my mom was upset with my sister.

When disciplining her, my mom paused, put down her fork down, leaned in, and said in a completely serious whisper, “Don’t mess with me. I will crush you.”

I can’t remember who started laughing first, but within seconds, my sisters and I were in stitches at the ridiculousness of what our mom just said, and even she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

I love that I grew up in a household where teasing was encouraged. It teaches you how to be humble, how to laugh at yourself, and how to stop taking everything so seriously.

We don’t tease each other because we don’t like each other or because we’re trying to hurt one another; we tease because we care about each other.

I think it’s important to be able to laugh at yourself, and as much as I still become frustrated with my family when they tease me, they’ve taught me how to get off my high horse and laugh more.

And at the end of the day, I know that they will always be there to support me and cheer me on, especially if they are laughing while doing so.