There’s nothing worse than getting dismissed mid-story, especially when the other person acts like it’s a joke.

So, what would you do if someone pretended to listen but clearly didn’t care? Would you let it go? Or would you wait for the perfect moment to make your point?

In today’s story, a teenager finds themselves in this exact situation and uses their dad’s own joke against him.

Here’s how it all went down.

Want me to keep talking even if nobody’s listening? All right

This happened when I was around 14-15.

I was telling a story to my dad, and at one point, he interrupted me, told me, “Keep talking; I’m listening very carefully,” then left and closed the door.

I didn’t know it at the time, but he was very proud of this joke. He made it to my mom a couple of times (she never liked it). Anyway, I thought it was somewhat funny but also pretty rude.

Never mind, I knew an opportunity to teach my dad a lesson would come sooner than later. So I waited. And a couple of hours later, he would come and ask me to do the dishes.

There was no way he was doing the dishes.

Me: You know I can’t.

Him: “What do you mean you can’t? Why can’t you do the dishes?”

Me: “I told you earlier.”

Him: “No, you didn’t.”

Here’s where the dad realized what was going on.

Me: “Yes, I did. You know this. You told me you were listening very carefully.’

Him realising what I was doing: “Oh right! Well, could you remind me? I forgot.

Me: “No way, I’m not repeating myself. I already gave you a very simple and rational explanation.”

My dad was strict, but he knew when he was beaten at his own game.

He did the dishes that day, and he never made the joke again.

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Too funny! But he’s lucky his dad didn’t have a comeback lined up.

Let’s see how the fine folks over at Reddit relate to this story.

He does sound like a great dad.

It’s true; some dads cannot take jokes.

Her reaction must’ve been funny.

This is a good point.

The dad probably wasn’t expecting this, but it’s good he had a sense of humor about it.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.