"He who laughs, lasts"

Someone told me recently that they thought I had a great laugh.  I can’t say I really pay a whole lot of attention to how my laugh sounds, but I do know that I like to laugh and depending on what tickles my fancy, the laughs bubble out.

I think I have a fairly good sense of humour, however if you polled my kids, they may or may not agree.   One’s sense of humour is as unique as the individual it is attributed to.  I know that what makes my kids laugh doesn’t always make me laugh.  I’m just not into “The Hangover” brand of humour.    We had some friends who always watched “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” every Christmas, and they thought it was one of the funniest movies out there.  I’ve watched it and I just don’t find it that funny.  What makes me laugh are shows like “Big Bang Theory”, “Leverage” and “Duck Dynasty”.  Duck Dynasty has a certain kind of humour that makes me “happy, happy, happy”.

My kids are funny ... funny “ha ha” in a good way.  At times they are goofy and sometimes they surprise us with a very clever wit.  I’ll never forget the time one of my boys answered the phone and responded to the telemarketer on the other end of the line in an East Indian accent.  I wish I could have heard both sides of that conversation, but just hearing my son was enough to double me over in laughter.

The first time I was formally introduced to my husband was on a blind date with another couple.  We went to the Red River Ex and wandered around the exhibition grounds and rode the carnival rides, and then went out for coffee and dessert afterwards.  I can’t recall another time in my life when I have laughed as hard and as continuously as I did that night.  My face actually hurt by the end of the evening – in a good way, of course.  It was all just wacky silliness, light-hearted fun, and lots of puns. 

Perhaps that’s what started knitting Eric into my heart – he could make me laugh.  He’s always been able to make me laugh.  I have heard some of the same jokes from him for nearly 25 years, and I still laugh at them.  Even on the tough days, those days when he was mired in depression, and the days when we weren’t quite sure how to hit the curve-ball life was throwing at us.  Even on those days, somehow Eric and I have been able to laugh.  I treasure that. 

There's a proverb that says "He who laughs last, laughs best", but I like this saying:

"He who laughs, lasts."  (Mary Pettibone Poole)

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Oh the People You’ll Meet ...

A new school year has begun, and this year represents the first year at a new school for my oldest and my youngest.  My oldest son is starting University at age 21, and my youngest has reached Grade 10 and is officially in high school.   I’ve asked my youngest a few times if he has met any new people, to which he replies, “Of course, Mom”.  And then I ask if he remembers their names.   Usually I just get an eye-roll as a response.

One of the reasons I get excited about the new school year is not just that the boys are back in the classroom and out of the house, but it also signals the start of the school volleyball season.  I don’t understand absolutely everything about the sport (I still can’t look at a lineup on the court and tell you if someone is out of rotation unless I’m sitting at the scorer’s table), and often my kids just shake their heads and give me a look that says “Oh Mom, please stop talking because you don’t know what you’re saying.”

We have been volleyball parents for about 7 years and in that time have met so many quality people that we consider friends.  As the school volleyball season starts, we look forward to sitting in the bleachers with many of them, whether our kids are on the same side of the court or not.  I will cheer for their kids too!

As I was thinking about my boys meeting new people and about seeing our volleyball friends again, the words  “Oh the People You’ll Meet...”  were looping through my brain and I thought for sure they must have been penned by Dr. Seuss.  I wasn’t too far off.  Dr. Seuss wrote “Oh the Places You’ll Go!”  I should have known that, because it was read at each of my sons’ elementary “graduation” celebrations by the Grade 6 teacher, Mr. ... can’t recall his name, but I can picture him clearly with his arthritic knees and cane.

To borrow from Dr. Seuss:

Oh, the people you’ll meet!  There are faces to see!

There are lives to catch up on; people to greet!

And then comes that horrible moment of shame,

When you abso-posi-lutely cannot recall their name.

It’s wonderful meeting and re-connecting with people.  But what’s not so wonderful is my inability to remember names!   This evening as I dropped off one son at the gym, I bumped into another volleyball mom that I’ve known for a number of years and actually conversed with several times.  After chatting for about 5 minutes, we parted ways, and as we walked away, she was braver than I to ask, “What was your name again?”  I didn’t feel nearly so bad after that, and it opened the door for me to ask her to refresh my memory too.  Thank you, Chris!  I just hope I remember her name the next time I see her!

This really is an excerpt from “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”  By Dr. Seuss:

You'll get mixed up, of course, 
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

What if ...

“ ... "What" and "If" are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? What if? What if? ...” 

That’s a quote from the movie “Letters to Juliet”, which I think is a really well-written movie line. I’m not haunted by too many “what if’s” from my past choices, but do on occasion wonder “what if” about what is to come. 

• What if ... I can’t lose that 20 lbs I have been trying to lose for much too long?
• What if ... I bought a winning lottery ticket?
• What if ... one of my boys goes off the rails and starts doing drugs or something similarly self-destructive?
• What if ... my husband wasn't living with depression? And What if ... his depression is a battle we wage for the rest of our lives?
• What if ... cancer knocks on my door?

It’s easy to become discontent with life. Often we want what someone else has. What if ... I had their bank account ... lifestyle ... house ... vehicle. I’m guilty of that. The grass always does seem greener somewhere else.

Ecclesiastes 1:8 New Living Translation (NLT)

Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

This may sound a little unbelievable, but I knew that I was going to marry my husband before we even went on our first date (which happened to be a blind date!). Something in my spirit knew that this was the last guy I was ever going to date, and I have to believe that was God, already putting Eric in my heart. I have never had any “what if” moments about marrying Eric, in all of our 24 years of married life, because I knew that God’s plan was for us to be together.

I have found contentment in knowing that I am with the person God destined me to be with. Being content in that knowledge doesn’t mean life is a piece of cake (gluten free or otherwise); life still has its challenges, difficulties and heartaches. But knowing this is where God wants me, and who He wants me to be with, means that He will meet all my needs, whatever comes my way. He has the answers to all my “what if” questions. 

Philippians 4:6-8, 12-13 New Living Translation (NLT)

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.