Sometimes a little laugh is the only bit of sanity you have in your entire day.
George Resch, @tanksgoodnews
If you know me well, you know that laughter, sarcasm and ill-timed jokes are usually my go-to in the middle of stressful situations. I love making people laugh…..it makes my heart happy to see people I care about wipe tears from their eyes, while doubled over in laughter. But it’s challenging some days, to find something to smile about right now.
There are people who have lost their jobs, people who have lost their homes, people dying around the world, medical professionals who are fighting this battle every day in our hospitals, and people who are blamed for this disease because of their race or nationality. It feels inappropriate to laugh some days with so much going on around us. But if you’ve been on any social media over the last month, you’ve no doubt seen hundreds, if not thousands, of memes, videos, blogs, songs, or jokes about our current situation. I read an article last week in The Atlantic, and the author stated “We laugh to take back control and to connect—two things we have lost in our fight against the coronavirus…. Powerless and isolated, we’re finding that the joke is now our most reliable shield, and our warmest comfort blanket.”
Humor won’t necessarily take away my sadness and anxiety right now, but it does distract me from them for just a minute. Humor is my connection to friends and family, and coworkers, and even those people I’m friends with on Facebook that I haven’t spoken too since high school. I laughed when my parents donned nun outfits and sang during a family Zoom talent show a few weeks ago. I laugh at the texts between girlfriends and I about what terrible parents we are because of all the screen time our kids are getting. I laugh at the shared memes on a message board with coworkers. I laugh with my family about how mad our cat is and how happy our dog is that we’re home every day now. I laugh at the children and pets constantly interrupting our video conference calls.
There is so much uncertainty in the world right now, but I know one thing for sure, it always feels good to laugh. I encourage all of you to find a little bit of humor and joy every day in your lives….with your families, with the children in your child care programs, with your neighbors, or with the checker at your grocery store.
Oh…..one other thing I know for sure, it’s going to be hard to take off these slippers and put on real shoes again.
-Lauren Powers, Grants and Operations Manager
