A Good Laugh….

Hanging above my stove is a sign that reads, “Laugh Often”.  It’s our family’s mantra.  They say, {not sure who “they” is though}, that “laughter is the best medicine”.  Yes, there are health benefits to humor.  It makes stressful situations seem less intense.  Laughter makes us feel good.  I love listening to people laugh.  In fact, laughter is contagious. It’s hard not to chuckle, when you hear someone else cracking up.

I enjoy good comedians, funny movies and people with an incredible sense of humor. I’m forever grateful I married a man who is excellent at keeping things light and makes me laugh hard. Every. Single. Day.  My 12 year old son has followed in his footsteps.  He says and does amazingly comical things and has perfect comedic timing.  I’m certain he was born with this trait~and am fairly confident it’ll prove to be a great asset throughout his life.

Each morning while I eat breakfast, I read the news online and peruse my favorite blogs.  For me it’s the perfect way to start my day.  Especially when it involves dying of laughter, like I did this morning while reading, The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond’s hilarious blog post, “All I Wanted Was a Donut“.  I could barely read it, though, as I was roaring with laughter and tears were streaking down my cheeks.  Why did I find this so absolutely funny?  Well, because, we’ve all been there. I think it’s safe to say, most people have endured embarrassing situations.  And sometimes they’re accidents the public finds amusing. But they’re just that, accidents.  Regardless, when they happen to us, instantly we wanna run away and hide forever.  Never to show our faces again.  Because when you do something you feel is nothing short of humiliating, you are certain that you are the one and only person in humankind who has ever done that. EVER. Fact of the matter is, that simply is not the truth.

Case in point. A few months ago, my husband and I wanted to go on a date one Saturday after the holidays were over.  I figured I would try to look attractive for my man, so I put on my finest “dressy” jeans, my favorite blouse and threw on my classy suede wedges that I hadn’t worn in a century.  Or two.  Dates are for dressing up.  It’s more fun that way, and I’m all about having a good time.  We headed out for a delightful lunch together at the Nordstrom Cafe. Then we had planned on going to see a matinee movie, Mission Impossible.  The food was fabulous as usual, the company and conversation, excellent.  Our server was on the ball and gave us each a diet coke to-go. It was a very thoughtful gesture on her part.  Nordstrom is known for their exceptional customer service and doesn’t think twice about giving  first-class treatment to all their shoppers.

When it was getting close to our matinee show time,  my hubby and I grabbed our purchases and left Nordstrom.  We walked outside and handed the valet our ticket.  While the valet went to bring our car around, we stood  in front of Nordstrom with other shoppers waiting for their rides. The valet parked our car right next to the curb and politely opened the doors for each of us. Being on a date, I tried to act a little more lady-like while getting into my hubby’s BMW {which for the record, is a sedan and far lower to the ground than my SUV.  I’m used to hopping up into my SUV rather than stepping down, like you have to do, to get into my loves auto. This particular time, it was a bit hazardous for me}.

As I stepped off the curb, in my 4-inch wedges, I somehow lost my footing and fell straight to the ground.  Right. On. My. Butt. That to-go diet coke our Nordstrom server so kindly sent me away with….I was still holding onto…and it literally exploded everywhere.  All over hell.  Immediately, my husband rushed to my aid and made sure I was okay.  He was baffled as to how fast it all had happened.  And so was I.  One minute I was standing. The next, I was on the ground covered in my cold drink, as was the car.

The valet promptly ran to grab some cleaner and rags to help my man clean up the magnificent mess I’d made.  I was mortified.  I went from being lady-like to a heap on the ground in the blink of an eye.  And to make matters worse, there were plenty of witnesses who had the pleasure of watching me in all my glorious clumsiness.

While my hubby and the valet wiped the car clean, I sat quietly in my seat. Not moving an inch. Luckily, I didn’t get physically hurt. I didn’t twist my ankle or bruise anything.  Except for my ego.  My ego on the other hand, was beyond hurt.  No way was I going to see a movie.  Alls I wanted to do was go home, change my clothes and lie low.  I wanted to flee from that place as fast as possible.

No movie date.  Seeing Mission Impossible, suddenly became our very own, mission impossible.  And as much as I wanted to see it, I didn’t care a bit.  Being in the comfort of my home, away from the world and surrounded by my loved ones was all I desired.  And so that is what we did instead.

At the time this all played out, I pleaded with my husband, “Do NOT tell ANYONE about what happened”.

I didn’t want anyone to know.  Because honestly,  crazy embarrassing moments like this don’t happen too often for me.

For a few months, when I headed to Nordstrom to do a little shopping, I refused to use their valet services and would enter and exit the store from the opposite side.

Time can heal wounds. It has been almost three months now since my graceless fall in the Nordstrom parking lot, on that Saturday afternoon.  Fact of that matter is, I’ve been a little silly about the whole thing. And today confirmed that after reading Ree Drummond’s, side-splitting account of her disastrous  attempt at helping herself to a donut in a convenience store while she and MM were out Christmas shopping. {Which I could relate to in my own little way. Hence, why i found it so funny}.  Her story helped me to  realized a few critical things::

1.  The bottom line is, everyone has humiliating moments at some point in their lives.  Some more embarrassing than others.  Some ridiculously funny.  Just watch YouTube or America’s Funniest Home Videos.  There’s plenty of proof out there that I’m not alone.

2.  Note to self….I shouldn’t take life so seriously sometimes.  In retrospect, what happened to me was truly amusing.  Even though at the time, I thought it was far from humorous.  And nothing but disconcerting.

Most importantly….

3.  We must learn to laugh at ourselves.  We are better for it.

I’m happy to say, that I can finally laugh at my fantastic fall and do often with the love of my life.  He always adds a little more humor to it and makes me giggle even a little harder at how dramatic of a fall it truly was.

Laughter is definitely the best medicine.  I more than got my daily dose in today.

Wishing you a day full of laughter and love…

Lisa

PS::Please share your most embarrassing moments.  I’d love to hear your stories.