Did You Lose Your Funny Bone?~

When humor goes...there goes civilization.  ~ Erma Bombeck


I have noticed that there is a significant lack of good humor lately.  I love to laugh, I love to hear a good joke, and tell a good joke.  I have never taken myself , or life all that seriously.   It has kept me alive.  When you are in the hospital, and they tell you a disease might be killing you, it doesn't seem like you should be cracking jokes.  But , I guess that hilarity is as appropriate an emotion as any, at a time like that. Some people don't see it that way.  I was at a garage sale a couple of summers ago, when a woman commented on how well-behaved my children were.  I jokingly replied, "Well, I beat them all the time." The woman thought I was serious!  She gave me "the look".  You know which one I'm talking about.  The "You are gum on my shoe."  look.   I didn't really think about it at the time, but I get that people really do beat their kids. But, I was so obviously kidding I 'm not sure why she took me so seriously.  My dad and I also got "the look" when we were in the hospital waiting room.  I was waiting to go back and get prepped for surgery.  Now, my dad is a very funny guy.  We were telling each other our newest stories, and we were laughing, and having a great time.   We weren't being loud or disorderly, just having fun.  Now , this one couple in there was giving us "the look".  It said "How dare you be having a good time in here?!"  And I understand , hospitals can be tragic places, I have been in enough of them , and in them for long enough, to understand that.  I had a miscarriage at 3 and a half months along ,an emergency c-section, an appendectomy, another c-section, a hysterectomy, and many, many lengthy stays in the hospital.  So I get that hospitals can be scary , emotional environments.  But, what better way to deal with your emotions?  Humor is a wonderful thing.... and can carry you through some rough spots.  I know it probably seems morbid, or strange, but it helps me cope with the everyday stress of having a serious illness.  It has helped me to see that there is so much more to life than being sick. And I am so glad that I can view it with a lighter heart!


Here' s to those people with "the look ".  May God grant them a sense of humor in their darkest hour.
Ruby Jeanette