"Real Fact #801: It is impossible for a person to tickle himself."I love Diet Peach Snapple. It's an expensive drink, but sometimes I'll treat myself to a six pack. Each creatively packaged bottle comes with a screw-off lid that has a factoid printed on the inside. I had a bottle with my lunch today and read the factoid quoted above. Perhaps it is true in a literal, physical sense, but I totally disagree with it. I tickle myself every day in other ways!
~from the lid of a bottle of Diet Peach Snapple
I was blessed genetically with an appreciation for self-deprecating humor. My dad laughed at himself loudly and often, and invited those around him to join in. He told hilarious stories on himself. I remember him telling a supposedly true tale of how he had painted a house and when he got done, he stepped back to admire his work-- from the top of a ladder. Of course it wasn't true, but he would laugh and laugh over the idea and the telling of it.
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| My father on the right as a young man, helping to paint his in-law's house |
I discovered through him that sometimes the only way to survive difficult times is to find humor in it. One thing that helped me survive a very difficult time during a divorce was to collect cartoons and humorous tales. I kept a small notebook and filled it with them-- often copying cartoons off the New Yorker Magazine web site (they were by far the best on the subject of divorce!). I would refer to these cartoons when I needed a chuckle. Something about laughing at my troubles helped me feel like I was controlling them, not the other way round.
As I age, I am finding the everyday rituals of life can become more difficult, and since I can't stop the aging process, the only way to survive is to seek out the humor in them. Creaky joints, difficult mobility when climbing or descending stairs, the need to change one's diet-- all contain funny moments that can make them bearable. My recent experience of being on crutches provided a great example of what I mean:
The first cast I had applied to my leg was placed the second week of December. It was going to be on for only 2 weeks, and I got to pick any color I wanted. When I jokingly asked the nurse if I could have a Christmas one, she outdid herself by applying a red and green "barber shop pole" stripe. It was very bright - very loud and Christmas-y. About a week later, I went to lunch with a friend. She drove, I hobbled on crutches into the restaurant. They seated us at a table in the middle of the room, where I could prop the foot up on a chair at right angles to my own. The act of hobbling in with crutches creaking made me feel like I was suddenly on stage. And there was that bright cast! As we were dining, I noticed a table of men attired in business suits dining close by. One gentleman, who was facing me, was staring openly at my propped up leg. I didn't say a word, but very slowly pulled up my pant leg, so the full cast slowly came into view. It startled him and he looked up at me. I grinned and said, "Merry Christmas, huh?" He laughed, shook his head and said, "Well, I guess you are just making lemonade out of lemons..."
The lesson I have learned is that a sense of humor, especially about myself, can be the best way to cope with difficulties sometimes. And finding humor in the everyday events of life can make living a pleasure, not just for me, but for those close to me.
If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you're old.
~ Edgar Watson Howe
Laugh at yourself first, before anyone else can.
~ Elsa Maxwell
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