We all have moments that make us want to disappear, but they remind us not to take life too seriously. Even the most mortifying incidents eventually fade, and the best thing we can do is laugh them off.

I once met my boyfriend’s parents for the first time. Lunch went great—until I returned from the bathroom with a huge brown stain on the back of my pants. Horrified, I later realized it wasn’t what they thought—it was melted chocolate I’d shoved in my pocket. Instead of supporting me, my boyfriend scolded me for “embarrassing him.” That was my turning point—I ended things soon after.

Other moments? A girl forgot to mute herself on Zoom and admitted to her mom that the “hot teacher” was teaching her English class. My son pointed at an older man’s big belly and shouted, “Look mama, he has a baby too!” A frog once leapt straight into a classmate’s mouth during show-and-tell. Someone grabbed the wrong cousin’s hand at a family fair. I even heard about a guy who confidently put his arm around a stranger at the movies—after sipping their drink and stealing their popcorn.

As humiliating as these memories are, they’re universal. They make for great stories later on—and proof that a little awkwardness is just part of being human.