The absolute joy of being miserable with my dad

My dad had a horrible idea of what constitutes 'fun.' We still always had a blast.

Jeva and her dad.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Keri Young, str33tcat/iStock)

My dad insists that there are three levels of fun. He got this idea from a National Geographic speaker he heard a few years ago, but it always seemed to me to be a way to retroactively justify dragging my brother and me on some of the worst vacations possible, like the time we went to Lake Wenachee and I got over 100 mosquito bites because the air was so thick with bugs that even DEET didn't deter them.

My dad's version of the scale goes something like this:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.