The friend circle I have surrounded (found) myself in has a couple of defining characteristics, the most generous being humor.
Other great characteristics include being loving and kind, honesty, good listening skills, spontaneous nature and lastly ownership of a boat or beach home (just kidding, kinda)…all good characteristics….but humor is at the forefront….
If your life is like mine then you have limited choices of family members, neighbors, parents at the school, committee members on volunteer gigs, bosses….make sense to “choose” the “right” friends for your needs. One of my needs is to LAUGH…and often.
Here are a couple of stories to share and giggle at.
Story #1 – JUST PLAIN WRONG
So E calls me randomly about 3 years ago.
Phone “Ring-ring” (actually it’s crickets singing on my cell phone)
“Hello”
“Hi” whispering “at work…had to share a story”
“Ok” whispering back (even though I did not have to) “tell me”
“So I get to work and something is bugging me, literally rubbing me the wrong way”
Me “okaaaaay”
E “So I get coffee and kinda walk around trying to get things un-bunchie”
Me “Un-bunchie?”
“Yep, In my pants”
Me “Ok, that’s weird”
“Yeah, I thought so too. So I go to bathroom and realize that this morning, I put my thong on backwards”
Now I am a visual thinker…insert imagery here.
Me “Are you kidding me? You walked around like that all morning”
“Yep”
Me “OMG, didn’t you notice on the car ride to work?”
E “No, but I’m not really awake yet on the ride in”
Me “That is worrisome, but do you feel better”
“Yep, had to share…gotta go….bye”
Hang up phone
After we hung up, I sat for minute and then laughed until tears came out of my eyes. Randomly I burst into laughter all morning. She is a keeper. I think she has switched to bikini briefs.
Story #2 – BAR SCENE
So on a rare night out about 5-6 years ago I am out with a group of other moms. I can’t recall where we are or why. Birthday? Holiday? Tuesday?
We go to a fun place that we had “heard of” and after awhile, it turns out to be a pick up place for 50-70 year old’s and is kinda icky (don’t get me wrong, that is my age group), instead of leaving as we had already staked out a claim at a table and had a couple of cocktails, I remind my friends of that old college trick of just using a fake name, a “spa” name. Makes it more fun and that way if there is a issue with a creeper, they don’t actually know your name. We were having fun, dancing…etc…acting crazy for moms who don’t get out much and a couple of creepers come over.
Couple of semi-bald guys, “Hey how’s it going”
Us “Um, Good, Fine” followed by random banter…blah blah blah…
Conversation comes to eventually “What are your names”
We go around the table, and we all give a pseudo name, mine is “Susie”
There’s a “Claire”, a “Ginger”….etc….comes to my friend T and she says “Andrea”
I look at her in disbelief as that’s my name!! Seriously. She mouths “I’m sorry, I panicked”
So, all night, I turn every-time the creeper says my name. It got more confusing as the night went on, as the libations got more liberal
It was hilarious, as she and I were giggling all night every-time my name was said.
It’s the laughter I have with my friends I appreciate the most, even years after when I am writing a blog. It makes life feel light and happy.
Some of my favorite laughter quotes:
“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”. ~Victor Hugo
“Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis”. ~Jack Handey, “Deep Thoughts,” Saturday Night Live
“The secret to humor is surprise”. – Aristotle
“When humor goes, there goes civilization”. – Erma Bombeck
–Peace and Laughter