Tragicomedy

Mom was washing the dishes, with a trickle of water.

A.: That has got to be the most inefficient dish-washing I've ever witnessed.
Dad: You're so unromantic. It's not about efficiency: it's really about taking the time to enjoy the process.
Mom: Ha ha. You're very witty.
A.: Mom actually let me do the dishes earlier today.
Dad: Did she stand over your shoulder and provide a running commentary?
A.: Of course. She said several times I was using so much water.
Dad: There was a writer, Turgenev... do you know his first name?
A.: Ivan.
Dad: [speechless for a moment] Impressive. Anyway, he wrote a very tragic story...
A.: I believe he wrote many.
Dad: Hi story "Mu-mu" [quite possibly the most f*ing depressing story ever] is at the root of the expression "muchyet mu-mu" ["to torture mu-mu," which is commonly used to describe a tortured process]. Anyway, it would most appropriate to apply that expression to the way your mom washes the dishes.

***
I also impressed Mom this morning, after she insisted that we check whether I'm smarter than a fifth-grader (I was). That established, she suggested that I go on the show to make a dent in my mortgage.