Humor Me

Humor lifts moods, changes minds, attracts, invigorates, and can make even the most unbearable things bearable. A sense of humor ignites all senses. It may not always be graceful, but it is consistently a saving grace.

Throughout all of my life, I have searched out Humor. Humor has saved me in more ways than one and I am who I am because of it, I'm convinced. To me, Humor in its female form would be the perfect mix of Paula Poundstone doing her Snickers bit, Ellen on an everyday basis, Kathy Griffin at her finest, Kristen Wiig (always), and my best girlfriends at my most important (and sometimes saddest) moments. Male humor? I close my eyes, and he's Chris Farley, my entire group of guy friends at PSU circa '88, and my husband at five years old in gym class. (Long story.) I open my eyes and Humor is Jim Gaffigan, David Chappelle, Paul Rudd dancing, and the entire cast of "Bored to Death" rolled into one snarky, larger-than-life, funny guy. 


Marlo and Ang hamming it up in Fort Lauderdale

 Lila and AJ are becoming funny little people. They have their own individual senses of humor that never fail to make me laugh, even on less than stellar days. We've deemed their belly buttons "magic buttons" which, when pressed, result in a ten-second dance, complete with finger pointing, goofy smiles, and maniacal twirling about. One of my favorite things to do is to press their magic buttons while they're in perfect mid-meltdown mode and see them stop for a moment to perform the (self-imposed) silly dance before, ultimately, falling back into their original screaming, crying puddles of angst. (The day they don't bow down to the power of the magic button is the day I'll know, for sure, that their meltdown is for real.)


I remember this picture being taken far past bedtime, journeying into that time when all hope for civility and repose seems soon to be lost. You know, the time to embrace your sense of humor. And wine.



AJ was on a roll during dinner tonight, making jokes left and right (like, "Wait a second guys, this one's funny: Did you ever see a poo-poo foot orange juice puppy head?" hahaha) and stopped mid-joke-a-thon to say, "Hold on, someone get me a drink." Like he was a seasoned comedian, practicing his repertoire pre-show, ordering up a shot of tequila from the barkeep (me). Made us giggle for quite awhile, anyway...

Lila chooses to cock an eyebrow from afar during such displays; will whisper things to me like, "Tinkerbell used to tell me when I was a little baby that AJ was SO annoying, remember?" hahaha; and quite simply, loves to laugh...

Carwash Drama Queen (feigned fear + giggles)

In life, I believe it's so important to find someone who gets your sense of humor. Who gets you...



Lila and her best buddy, Gianna (favorite activity = giggles)

 I've noticed that Humor tends to be inherited. The women in my beautiful family have their very own brand. Oftentimes inappropriate. Sometimes sarcastic. Always silly.

Lila and my mom sharing a joke

I think Humor, at its core, brings people together. Whether it's sarcastic, cynical, goofy, smart, slapstick, over-the-top, low-key ~ it shows others who, exactly, you are...

I look for it everywhere, and love it when I can find it. I think any effort to make someone laugh is exemplary and phenomenal. 

At the end of the day, whether it's been a tough day or one that's rather mundane, if Humor made an appearance, it was a success. Because for me, Humor keeps it all in perspective... A day you've laughed is a pretty great freakin' day.

Here's to finding that magic button...

A sense of humor...is superior to any religion so far devised ~ Tom Robbins (Jitterbug Perfume)