Life throws all kinds of unexpected things at us each day. How we respond to those events can make a big difference in our attitude and outlook for the day, determining whether we feel defeated or like an overcomer.
Being able to laugh at ourselves really goes a long way toward that overcoming attitude. It helps us to dispel the shame of inadequacy that we feel when we mess up or do something dumb. And it also can lighten the hearts of others as we share our humorous faux pas.
So indulge me as I share a funny story with you. This really happened recently...
Being able to laugh at ourselves really goes a long way toward that overcoming attitude. It helps us to dispel the shame of inadequacy that we feel when we mess up or do something dumb. And it also can lighten the hearts of others as we share our humorous faux pas.
So indulge me as I share a funny story with you. This really happened recently...
I was getting ready to go to the Christian Women’s monthly luncheon. I felt pretty good, having only one mild angina episode that morning. My purse sat by the back door, ready to go, along with the checkbook to pay for my meal. After one last mental check of my “do-I-have-everything list,” I headed out the door at 11:45 am.
No need to hurry. There was plenty of time to drive those few miles, park and yak with my friends. I got in the car and rummaged through my bag. My heart sank as reality hit.... NO CAR KEYS.
I must have left them in the house. I'll just go back in and get them....
Uhhhh...Wait a minute! I realized I couldn't get back in the house because I had locked the doors on my way out and of course, the CAR AND HOUSE KEYS were on the same key ring which was in the house somewhere!
“Keep calm so you don’t have another angina attack from stressing out,” I told myself as I ticked off my short list of options. Hmmm. Maybe I could:
know how to pick locks. Kicking the door down only worked on TV and I sure wasn’t desperate enough to break the glass - yet.
The living room windows on either side of the big picture window might work if they weren’t locked from the inside – and they were easily accessible from the deck. Good thing it was summer! One of them was unlatched so I managed to open it and put one leg inside. I quickly realized they were way too narrow to go in that way unless I became a contortionist.
Maybe head first? Nope - even though I've lost 60 pounds, I wasn’t going to fit through that way either. I had visions of getting stuck halfway. Wouldn't that be a sight - legs sticking out a narrow window that faced a heavily travelled main street in our community? I could almost hear the gossip about the totally undignified, chubby, 61 year old, crazy pastor’s wife who lives in the parsonage. I might even make the evening news if someone had to call paramedics to get me unstuck. LOL – definitely not going to happen!
I swallowed my pride and called Dan to tell him about my predicament. After commiserating with me for a moment (I knew he was laughing), he suggested that the larger dining room window might be unlatched. But, he said I would need to get a ladder or a chair because that window was at least 5 feet above the ground.
There were two ladders in the garage, but they were hung up too high, weighed too much for me to handle and were too dirty to bother with.So I dragged a metal patio chair to the window, shoving it between the shrubs. I have had difficulty climbing onto a chair for years so it took me several tries. Finally I managed to get up on the chair and realized to my dismay, it wasn't quite high enough. I gripped the window frame for balance and climbed gingerly onto the arms of the chair. (Thank goodness we bought those sturdy chairs several years ago. Whew!) I got the window open and was up just high enough to launch myself in head first.
There I was with my front half inside and my legs sticking straight up in the air outside. I suddenly realized that I hadn't thought this through very well. There was no way to go back out the window, but how was I supposed to get the rest of me inside without doing bodily harm? I finally decided to wiggle and jiggle myself over the window sill until I flopped onto the dining room floor, hoping for the best. Thankfully there were large shrubs outside that window to block the view.
By this time I was laughing quite a bit. (It was probably a good thing I hadn't taken a water pill.) I figured I looked pretty ridiculous – maybe even funny enough to win $10,000 if only someone would make a video of it for America's Funniest Home Videos. Drat - where was my camera phone when I needed it? Oh yeah - it was on the ground - outside - in my bag. Sorry, no selfies for the blog today. LOL!
I picked my dignity up off the dining room floor, latched the windows, brushed the dust from my clothes and straightened my hair. When I found the missing keys, I said goodbye to the dog and headed out the door - again. I retrieved my bag from between the bushes outside the window and giggled all the way to the luncheon a little late, but in plenty of time to eat, and with a story to tell.
As a friend of mine once said – “You’ve gotta learn to laugh at yourself.” Yup...it works!
Have you ever had a day like this one? How did you respond to it?
No need to hurry. There was plenty of time to drive those few miles, park and yak with my friends. I got in the car and rummaged through my bag. My heart sank as reality hit.... NO CAR KEYS.
I must have left them in the house. I'll just go back in and get them....
Uhhhh...Wait a minute! I realized I couldn't get back in the house because I had locked the doors on my way out and of course, the CAR AND HOUSE KEYS were on the same key ring which was in the house somewhere!
“Keep calm so you don’t have another angina attack from stressing out,” I told myself as I ticked off my short list of options. Hmmm. Maybe I could:
- Find the conveniently hidden extra house key – Nope – didn’t have one.
- Call hubby to rescue me – Nope. Dan was unavailable because he was driving a client to a doctor’s appointment in a town 40 miles away and wouldn’t be home until at least 2 pm.
- Call Mary P– she was going to the luncheon and could come and get me. Nope – no answer and I tried twice. I couldn't remember anyone else's number who might be going to the luncheon or anyone at all who could help me out for that matter.
- Miss the dinner and meekly wait on the shaded back deck until Dan got home? Nope,
not a chance if there was any way at all!
know how to pick locks. Kicking the door down only worked on TV and I sure wasn’t desperate enough to break the glass - yet.
The living room windows on either side of the big picture window might work if they weren’t locked from the inside – and they were easily accessible from the deck. Good thing it was summer! One of them was unlatched so I managed to open it and put one leg inside. I quickly realized they were way too narrow to go in that way unless I became a contortionist.
Maybe head first? Nope - even though I've lost 60 pounds, I wasn’t going to fit through that way either. I had visions of getting stuck halfway. Wouldn't that be a sight - legs sticking out a narrow window that faced a heavily travelled main street in our community? I could almost hear the gossip about the totally undignified, chubby, 61 year old, crazy pastor’s wife who lives in the parsonage. I might even make the evening news if someone had to call paramedics to get me unstuck. LOL – definitely not going to happen!
I swallowed my pride and called Dan to tell him about my predicament. After commiserating with me for a moment (I knew he was laughing), he suggested that the larger dining room window might be unlatched. But, he said I would need to get a ladder or a chair because that window was at least 5 feet above the ground.
There were two ladders in the garage, but they were hung up too high, weighed too much for me to handle and were too dirty to bother with.So I dragged a metal patio chair to the window, shoving it between the shrubs. I have had difficulty climbing onto a chair for years so it took me several tries. Finally I managed to get up on the chair and realized to my dismay, it wasn't quite high enough. I gripped the window frame for balance and climbed gingerly onto the arms of the chair. (Thank goodness we bought those sturdy chairs several years ago. Whew!) I got the window open and was up just high enough to launch myself in head first.
There I was with my front half inside and my legs sticking straight up in the air outside. I suddenly realized that I hadn't thought this through very well. There was no way to go back out the window, but how was I supposed to get the rest of me inside without doing bodily harm? I finally decided to wiggle and jiggle myself over the window sill until I flopped onto the dining room floor, hoping for the best. Thankfully there were large shrubs outside that window to block the view.
By this time I was laughing quite a bit. (It was probably a good thing I hadn't taken a water pill.) I figured I looked pretty ridiculous – maybe even funny enough to win $10,000 if only someone would make a video of it for America's Funniest Home Videos. Drat - where was my camera phone when I needed it? Oh yeah - it was on the ground - outside - in my bag. Sorry, no selfies for the blog today. LOL!
I picked my dignity up off the dining room floor, latched the windows, brushed the dust from my clothes and straightened my hair. When I found the missing keys, I said goodbye to the dog and headed out the door - again. I retrieved my bag from between the bushes outside the window and giggled all the way to the luncheon a little late, but in plenty of time to eat, and with a story to tell.
As a friend of mine once said – “You’ve gotta learn to laugh at yourself.” Yup...it works!
Have you ever had a day like this one? How did you respond to it?
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