Now What's Funny

Just because I’ve been pondering some heavy stuff lately doesn’t mean I haven’t had some laugh out loud moments.  Watching my critters demonstrate for me makes me grin and when they start doing the fandango I have to laugh out loud.  Thumper has started zipping around the house if he thinks he is being given “what for”.  Cherie gives me soulful looks after he’s tracked mud all over the new bedding and then rolls over like a dog to get a pat on the tummy. 

My mother repeats something I did not say and then says “I’ve got to go put my ears on”.  The other day she thought I said I wanted her to make a cow to go around my neck.  One look at her with my eyebrows raised and she got up and hurried to her bedroom to put on her hearing aids.  What I said was I wanted her to make me a collar; we both couldn’t stop laughing when she realized how crazy the “translation” sounded.

The other night we were watching some old family movies and we couldn’t stop laughing at ourselves laughing so hard.  One story in particular still keeps me laughing.  My mother has always been a stickler for good behaviour in stores.  As children we were warned well in advance of entering the story not to “plague” her; in other words, no asking for anything.  We weren’t allowed to touch anything either, only look longingly at the dolls and other toys in the bins or on the shelf.  Flash forward 50 years and there is my mother picking up a ball in Staples.  Just as she goes to test it’s bounce-ability I turn around and see her; my eyes look frantically at the sign but before I can say anything “whack” to the floor goes the hand calculator.  Mom looks up at me with horrified eyes; I spin around and shuffle out of the store holding my legs together, with Mom right behind me.  We stand outside the door and laugh so hard we can barely hold each other up.  Gasping for breath I ask her “why on earth?” and can’t get anything else out.  I start laughing again, Mom is laughing so hard she is crying, I am almost wetting myself.  Every time we looked at each other all the way home we would burst out laughing again.  At last Mom gets out “I thought it was a ball” which sets me off again.  “Why would you do that in an office supply store?  You with your perfect behaviour?”  She manages to get out “It was for Bobby” (her dog).

I tell you, it’s not easy raising a mother.