Innuendo. Immature? Or the great unifier?

Part of my job in the hospital blood bank where I work part time is to issue or "sign out" blood and blood products that we have prepared for specific patients. One of the most important part of this process is identification--or making absolutely sure that the right unit of blood is issued to the right corresponding patient. Hence when a unit of blood is sent on its way there is a rigorous process of checks and double-checks that must be followed, and then both the tech (myself) and the porter who is transporting the blood must sign off that it has been done.

We see these porters very regularly and often develop a good rapport with them. A couple of days ago, after completing the process, I signed the sheet and handed it over to CL, my porter buddy, to add his initials to the sheet. But he informed me he had already signed.

I peered down at the sheet and laughed. "Oh. So you did. It was so small I missed it."
Without missing a beat he replied, "Yeah. I hear that a lot."

Honestly, he had beat me to the punch! The same phrase was on the tip of my tongue, even as he said it. We both laughed over it, and I found myself chuckling over the incident on and off all day.

It got me thinking...
What exactly was so funny about it? I think, actually, that it was less the actual joke...as the fact that--without exchanging any set up or explanatory words--we both knew exactly what the innuendo referred to. Without uttering one dirty, or even suggestive word, we shared a "dirty joke." Perhaps that's a simplification, or just way off base, but there's no denying that there is a...commonality about the sexual experience. It is one thing that all of humanity shares an interest and--for the most part--an experience in. There are sexual undercurrents running through our lives constantly, and it's those moments when they bubble to the surface during our typical non-sexual work day...those moments when we share a knowing look or a secret smile...that, I think, we feel just a bit more human. And maybe...just a bit more connected to each other.

I am notorious in our home for being able to turn the most innocent of comments or phrases into a sexual innuendo...
Like the other night, we were watching a mini-documentary on the physics of bubbles. The narrator informed us, not surprisingly, that touching a bubble with a dry finger, invariably results in a burst bubble! He then demonstrated touching a large bubble with a wet hand--a hand that has been dipped in the same bubble solution, and quipped, "If the hand is wet, it is welcomed inside."
My son was already snickering when I added knowingly, "You see? Lubrication is everything."

 My family often roll their eyes at me or I hear a long drawn out, "Maawwwwm." But typically we all end up having a good laugh and enjoying the joke immensely. Some might say that makes me immature. That I have a one track mind even! (Gee. I write erotica. Ya think?) But I think it just means I'm enjoying life. I'm in touch with my sexuality, and I'm allowing myself the freedom to express it.

Then again...maybe it's just a dirty joke.

Nikki Soarde, Sex Diva and dirty minded mom.