Family member: So, like... what do you do?

Me: Erm... what do you mean?

Family: This... role play (said like a foreign word) ... thing...

Me: Oh that. Well... I get together with a group of friends and we make characters-

Family: (interrupting) You make what?

Me: Erm.. characters. Alternate personas. Like a person in a movie or a book.

Family: Oh. Alright...

(short pause while we figure out whose turn it is to talk)

Me: Okay. So... we make characters using a set of rules (I point out the gaming book) and then we play them... erm... act out the movie, so to speak.

Family: So you dress up like them and do back-flips and stuff?!

Me: Ack! No, I mean, we pretend. You know, like the make believe little kids do.

Family: Oh. Alright...

(another pause)

Me: Okay. So...One person is the GM...(cutting off another interuption) That means Game Master... He decides the plot and the rest of us say what our characters do-

Family: (interrupting, again) Say what they do? You mean like... "Now I go pee"^* and stuff?

Me: (after a heavy sigh) Well, normally not that specific, but, yes, that's sort of how it goes.

Family: (brief pause) Sounds boring.

And the conversation moves on to other topics, like why do I always wear jeans and sandals, why can't I ever dress up nice, etc...

^* = My sister really did ask this question of me when I tried to explain RPGs to her.
Really.
She did.
I swear.
Ask any of my friends that have met her, they'll agree.