Don't judge. Just smile.

 

I have one son and I feel that I can write about him because, although some of you may remember him from his youth, he lives far away now and you won’t be running into him in Walmart.  He does tend to read my blog though so…  perhaps it is a good thing he lives far away… in this case.  Anyway ... I find him to be hysterically funny.  Actually, my daughter is mega funny as well.  It’s a blessing -- although family gatherings readily turn into laugh fests which can be hard on your stomach muscles after a while. You see they both married super funny people and my grandchildren are funny as well.  It can be exhausting… but so worth it... so much fun!

Anyway – my son has a propensity for group texting which I do find annoying when he starts goofing around near my bedtime.  It’s hard to resist following along and participating even though I sometimes tell him to GO TO BED or sometimes I just resort to sleep texting.  He does this group text thing in the mornings, as well, which works well for me and for his sister. His wife does not appreciate the early morning text fests though – she is like "normal" people and sleeps until a decent hour or at least when she can. (Sometimes I wish I could do that.) Good thing she also has a well-developed sense of humor and can put up with the rest of us. Good thing we can appreciate our differences.  We are who we are. Right? I am thinking that my son-in-law just ignores us all in this group texting phenomena especially when the occasional group text happens during the day. He is, perhaps, wise to do so. Plus -- he does a lot of his work on his phone during the day time and doesn't have any goof off time.  It's not a toy after all.  Anyway -- it’s all good.

So…  recently my son group texted this creepy looking meme that says, “At my funeral, take the bouquet off my coffin and throw it into the crowd to see who is next.”  Of course, sharing the same sick twist sense of humor, we thought this was very funny and found appropriate emojis with which to respond.  Now to catch you all up a bit and to get to the point…  when we were all together this summer – enjoying a walk in the back pasture of my small plot of land (a place I cherish because of the quiet beauty of it all) – I told my children that when I move on to the next "realm", I want to be burned up and sprinkled.  It’s simple really.  I think they should just take my ashes, load them somehow into something like a t-shirt cannon and then blast me into the air in that same back pasture and watch me float and scatter across one of my favorite places.  All they need to do is be careful not to look up with their mouths open.  Seriously -- I think it is perfect.  Unfortunately, I don’t think they believe me... or maybe are a bit horrified at the notion.  My son laughs (sort of), but finds my idea to be dark somehow – even darker that the meme he sent – the one I just told you about.  So – I am telling the world – just burn me up and sprinkle me somewhere I love to be. No fanfare – just let me rejoin the earth.  Don’t judge. Just smile. To be scattered is somehow fitting. Each one of us is, after all, just a small part of the whole.

 

...a Slugville of my own making...

 

Some days I live in a “Slugville” of my own making and it is really sort of enjoyable. I pad around the house or wherever – content but not exceptionally motivated to do much of anything.  Recently when spending time in Slugville, I was reading a short column entitled “What to Do in APRIL” The suggestions included things like a severe warning to be aware of pandemic-savvy identity theft and how to avoid all-too-common Zoom meeting mistakes like standing up when you have only dressed the top part if your body. (Who does that?). Particularly mind provoking were suggestions on how to grow your own herbal tea while at the same time using garlic to boost your health.  Oh – April is also National Poetry Month.  BUT -- more importantly -- April is National Humor month! (That section begins with a “Laugh a little” suggestion and ends with websites for puns and hoaxes, etc.)

Now scuffing around in Slugville and reading that kind of wisdom is okay once in a while.  It’s restorative for me and it balances “things” out.  Other days though, I am up and alive and ready to go. And – related to the laughter suggestion mentioned above -- one thing that I especially love about those “other” days is the potential for laughter – maybe because laughter usually involves more interaction with real people. I like real people – well – I like some of them.  There is absolutely nothing like a good, hardy laugh – especially at something that pops up unexpectedly like the time my 10-year-old granddaughter was explaining to me that she felt it was her obligation to be the annoying little sister from time to time as it is an expected behavior indicated in the younger sibling's "job description".  Yep… she did say that.  Then there was the time, just a couple of years ago, when two of my friends and I were trying unsuccessfully to apply cheap false eyelashes in front of the same mirror at the same time. You had to be there to appreciate the full stomach hurting hilarity of that. Seriously though -- unexpected laughter is, for me, a deep joyfulness. Laughter is, perhaps ironically, a most serious thing.

Simply put – I love to laugh. Although I have been known to enjoy my own jokes, I don’t usually find myself to be particularly funny – but - I so appreciate funniness in others for sure. Luckily -- I am blessed with two extremely funny children.  They married people who are also extremely funny.  It is no surprise to me that their children, my grandchildren, can easily make me laugh. Is this trait hereditary? Anyway -- our times together are often a bit of a laugh fest – at least off and on.  It’s fun.  The bursts of laughter sometimes come from things like comments made by a grandchild at the dinner table – the “out of the mouth of babes” type of comment.  Or – there is the laughter induced by an outrageous meme of some sort. Shared memes are prevalent and popular these days  (especially in my family) --  wonderful… brilliant… true, and surprisingly, sometimes painfully, accurate... not to mention socially unacceptable at times  -- which makes them even funnier. (Who thinks of them?)  And… I must mention the laughter inducing group texting “thing” that my children inflict on me -- all too often.  I do admit that it is lovely to be included but … I sometimes participate in sleep texting mode and then laugh at everything the next morning.  (I never could get my kids to go to bed  -- especially my son. I just tucked them in at a socially acceptable time and hoped for the best.  I must say they turned out very well indeed in spite of that and the fact that I am still not sure that my son ever sleeps or has ever slept.) Back to the present though -- aren’t adult children wonderful?  It is heavenly to hang around with them and especially relaxing to listen and be able to say something like, “Oh my… you will have to let me know what you decided to do about that.  That’s a tough one for sure.”  Yes, I am a retired person -- in all realms.  Well -- retired most of the time.  Back to laughter though… 

Sometimes old sayings hang around for a reason and that reason is that they are true – for all times and for all people everywhere.  “Laughter is the best medicine.”  Actually, I read one other time while in Slugville, that a good laugh really does strengthen your immune system, lessen aches and pains and protects you from the damaging effects of stress.  See – living in Slugville once in a while is not a bad thing.  You learn stuff sometimes. Really. I do think that people create their own unique escape havens.  Sometimes they are called Slugville. We need them these days. 

Happy April 1, 2021. No joke....