Life isn’t always about “troubles” and I fear that my recent bloggings have some wondering if there is any joy in my life! Most assuredly there is! I am happily married, with 2 great kids, who are also about to be married. Both kids are out of the house, and no, that isn’t the reason for my joy! We also have 2 very exuberant and large golden retrievers, who keep us quite active.
I love to laugh. I live my life or at least try to, in a manner whereby I am able to see humor in most days. I am a practical joker at times and I’m not afraid to laugh at myself, which is key! I come by my humor naturally, having a Mom, who is quite the quick wit. Even though she is going through times of dementia, she seems to be able to manage a zinger or two.
I’ve lived in North Carolina for the past 19 years; my parents live in a suburb outside of Philadelphia, PA. A few years back they came for a visit and traveled by air. Before it became the thing to do, meaning before the airlines started charging ticketing fees for luggage, my parents would ship their clothes so as not to have baggage woes. That said, what is it about older folks who can go away for a week and bring 1 change of clothes and their PJ’s, while your teenager going for 3 days needs to bring their entire closet?! Anyway, I digress.
On their return trip home, I took my parents into the airport to the ticketing counter. They did their normal routine of handing over the driver’s license, etc. The girl at the gate then asked about luggage, noticing my parents didn’t have any. This was all done in casual chit chat, you know, did you come for a visit, how long, yadda, yadda, yadda. Anyway, after being asked this question, my Mom, without batting an eye, states that she and my Dad were just returning home after being away at a nudist colony! Oh my gosh! My Dad almost had a stroke laughing and my head whipped around so fast, I should have had whiplash!
Years ago our kids were on the neighborhood swim team. At the end of every year, the team had an awards banquet. My husband and I are pretty conservative, especially in front of our kids. The kids were at an age, where it wasn’t cool to be heading down to the pool with your Mom and Dad, so they went on ahead. Somehow, I was able to coerce my husband into doing a practical joke with me. Have you ever seen the “thong” t-shirt? You know, the one that looks like you are wearing a bathing suit? Well, I just so happened to have one for each of us. We put on these “cover ups” and headed to the pool. The way our pool is set up, the pavillion, where the banquet is being held, is down at the lower pool. Bruce and I walk in and are standing at the steps going down to the lower pool, scanning the crowd, for the kids. The pool area has gone silent, literally you could hear a pin drop. As people turned to look at the cause (which happened to be us), their mouths dropped open. First of all, I have gray hair, not that it matters other than you might not expect the look I was attempting, with the age that goes with the hair. From a distance, these shirts look like the real deal!! And I know, that those looking up at us, are not registering who Bruce and I are, as much as they are thinking, this is a neighborhood pool, and who in the heck would dare to show up like that! Then, they recognized us and the laughter started!
Guess who was able to get their Mom into this same shirt!!! Yep! I’m surprised my Dad is still alive! We have given him more shocks that lead to fits of laughter…..you just never know what might come next! My motto….expect the unexpected!
The bottom line is that I don’t take myself so seriously anymore. I try to incorporate fun whenever and wherever I can. Laughter is a great way to relieve stress. Years ago, I was way too serious, but what I learned from the experience was that I was trying to fit into someone else’s idea of who I should be. It wasn’t working for me, believe me! When I taught I was a no nonsense type teacher, ask my future daughter-in-law, when I took classes at the Y, I was the instructor’s class clown, quite innocently on my part, I wasn’t trying to be obnoxious. Now, it is just about seeing the humor in everyday life and sharing that with others, not at anyone’s expense!! Look for something to laugh about (not at) and have a great day!
Looking up! ~Barb
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