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| Karma |
OK so we're at the hospital and my dad has just gotten out of recovery. Surgery that was supposed to take 2 hours took 6 and he's very worn out.
OK so the 4 women in his life (Mom, me, my 2 sisters, I'm the middle) are in the room watching the nurse get him settled in his bed.
The old man is skeletal, there is no flesh left on his face so his nose looks like a bird beak. His neck is scrawny and wobbly because he's on a nice pleasant dose of morphine for pain...soooooooooooooo
he's sitting there trying to direct the nurse to "do this and do that" and my little sister starts to giggle.
I leaned over and said "what?"
She stiffles a louder laugh and squeaks these words to me "Dad...looks....
like....
a...
a.......
a TURTLE!"
Well by golly if she wasn't right on the money and I began MY round of stiffled laughter and inappropriate sniggling.
My OLDER sister, who finds nothing funny in life..EVERYTHING is serious and don't you DARE laugh out of place...glares at us and leans over to demand "WHAT?? What are you guys LAUGHING about? STOP THAT!"
So little sis and I tell her that we think dad looks like a turtle.
Well..............older sister makes a hasty exit from the room and we were sure she was in tears. Her shoulders were shaking and her head was held low...we heard some funny noises coming from her and we were sure she was gonna melt from the great sorrow of watching dad in this condition.
Little sis and I decided we'd better go check on her so we head to the hall where older sis is continuing her *crying* jag.
Turns out she's in hysterics...claims she's now laughed herself SICK.
Uh oh.
Here comes Mom,
the stern kindergarten teacher from way back. The semi-sour look on her face told us she was NOT happy with our behavior. This IS the ICU after all and dang it, you don't stand out in the hallway causing scenes unless someone has died!
So we tell mom that we think dad looks like a turtle.
OK so my mom displayed some inappropriate laughter at this point. None of us were able to go back in the room for quite some time............
Does anyone else out there giggle at funerals or snort with delight at the most inopportune moments? (or is it just me? LOL) |
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| Lunarlady |
I wanna picture.
I'm glad he made it through, though. I'm also glad you made it home OK. How were the roads? |
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| Francine |
Oh yes, I am so known for laughing at times that might seem not exactly appropriate. More times then not, though, folks join in with me. Laughter is the best medicine to help you through tough times.
Francine |
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| Karma |
quote:
Lunarlady wrote:
I wanna picture.
I'm glad he made it through, though. I'm also glad you made it home OK. How were the roads?
LL I actually DO have a photo..and now that I think about it, his picture looks pretty turtle-like too but this was even MORE so! I'm thinking part of it was that wobbly neck of his...LOL
The roads were delightful until I was 2 miles from home.
You DON'T wanna know how bad it was at that point. Let's just say the guy driving the sanding truck may report me as a stalker. ROTFLMAO
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| Robb |
ABSOLUTELY!
If you’re not laughing, you are crying.
It’s my motto.
For having both my Wife and Son near death at various points this past year, I can say without at doubt I am alive and sane thanks to my sense of humor. I have seen 2 babies die this year, and had another NICU friend’s baby die while I was in another room, and if I had not learned to deal with things in a balanced manner, there would be no doubt I would have lost my sanity.
Not inappropriate humor, but a celebration of life. The fact is, your father made it out of surgery, and that is something to celebrate. Every minute of every hour, of every day you have with your loved ones should be celebrated, and laughter is a big part of that effort of sanity.
A NICU is a very different place than most hospital units, where there are always people in direct contact with your child. You get to know the people who work with your child really well, and they know you really well too. (Oh, do I have stories about other parents…) Through all the stress, and my huge psoriasis flare ups, I was able to manage every day to have a smile and a joke (and Krispy Kremes, from time to time).
Why? Because when all was said and done on the day of Andy’s birth, he and my wife we alive. What a better reason to laugh with joy. I’m so lucky, I should go to Vegas.
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| Karma |
quote:
Robb wrote:
ABSOLUTELY!
If you’re not laughing, you are crying.
It’s my motto.
For having both my Wife and Son near death at various points this past year, I can say without at doubt I am alive and sane thanks to my sense of humor. I have seen 2 babies die this year, and had another NICU friend’s baby die while I was in another room, and if I had not learned to deal with things in a balanced manner, there would be no doubt I would have lost my sanity.
Not inappropriate humor, but a celebration of life. The fact is, your father made it out of surgery, and that is something to celebrate. Every minute of every hour, of every day you have with your loved ones should be celebrated, and laughter is a big part of that effort of sanity.
A NICU is a very different place than most hospital units, where there are always people in direct contact with your child. You get to know the people who work with your child really well, and they know you really well too. (Oh, do I have stories about other parents…) Through all the stress, and my huge psoriasis flare ups, I was able to manage every day to have a smile and a joke (and Krispy Kremes, from time to time).
Why? Because when all was said and done on the day of Andy’s birth, he and my wife we alive. What a better reason to laugh with joy. I’m so lucky, I should go to Vegas.
Robb, that's usually my motto too, until someone tells me I'm NUTS for smiling or cracking jokes at some of the most painful, serious moments in my life. Then I feel a little weird about it, but...waddaya gonna do?
And yeah, do I hear you about flareups of medical problems! LOL
Robb, you ARE a lucky fella....you don't have to go to Vegas, just hit Grand Casino in Hinckley. I'll even buy you a root beer to celebrate LIFE.
Ahhhhhhhh life, it makes me smile to think about it. :)
p.s. I remember giggling at my grammas funeral too. SPANK ME! LOL LOL |
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| Francine |
Speaking of funerals, karma, I have a story for you.
Years back, at my grandmother's wake, my family really made an impression on the funeral director. It was the end of the evening, and everyone was getting their coats on. I started to sing Roll Out the Barrel. It's a song my grandmother used to play on the piano, and we would all sing along with her. Well, I am singing softly, and it just was contagious. The next thing you know, everyone is singing! It was a riot! We were singing real loud, and laughing, and hugging. I remember the funeral director was standing in the doorway to his office with this look on his face. I am quite sure he thought we were nutty!
And, here is an even better story for you.
Some years back I lost a friend to cancer. I had helped with her hospice, and it was a tough time for everyone. After the funeral, we were at a local Italian restaurant for breakfast. There is a bar attached to the restauant, and several of us were in the bar. I even ordered a drink, which surprised some folks. Well, we are talking, and the bartender comes over, then my friend's brother proceeds to start talking about how I used to be a hooker! (for the record, and before rumors start flying I was never a hooker) Well, he expects I am going to loudly holler at him for saying such a thing. Boy did I surprise him when I went along with it! It was hilarious!
The story gets better. I had mentioned, prior to the hooker conversation, the name of where I work now to the bartender. Well, it turns out that he knows someone who knows my boss!! A few days leter, my boss and I are going over jobs and such, and he tells me he has something he just has to ask me. You guessed it! He asks me if I was in Santi's the other morning, and did I tell the bartender I was at one time a hooker! I proudly looked up, and said "Yup!" Oh my goodness, it was hysterical! My boss got this look on his face. I mean it was tough enough for him to take in that I was in Santi's bar on any morning, but to hear I was once a hooker? The poor man! I, of course, quickly filled him in on the entire story. To this day, it is still a story that gets kicked around!
You just have to have a sense of humor in life, you know?
Quack!
Francine, who really, never, ever, was a hooker!
[Edited by Francine] |
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| Mary |
Yeah, sure Francine, we all buy that 'fake' hooker story! |
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| Francine |
Mary, I'll tell the story over and over again for $100 an hour!
Quack!
Francine |
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| TrpltJanie |
GASP! Even I wouldn't do that! ;) You need to say ten Hail Marys, blame your mother, and stuff your face with chocolates.
So glad to hear that your dad is okay and yes, laughter is a very good thing. It helps me to poke fun at myself and the situations when things get tough. I agree with Robb--life is precious and I regard myself extremely blessed: getting the cochlear implant so I could hear my kids laugh themselves silly--never knew that laughter could be so contagious when I hear someone laughing so hard. When I'm trying to regain my composure, I take off my processor so I won't have to hear other people laughing and gasping for breath.
Thanks for the laugh, Karma and do keep 'em coming. |
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| Karma |
quote:
Francine wrote:
Mary, I'll tell the story over and over again for $100 an hour!
Quack!
Francine
FRANCINE!!!
You SAY you've never been a hooker but you DO charge like one! curiouser and curiouser.... ROTFLMAO
Too funny...your story even made me GUFFAW out LOUD! *wiping the guffaw juice off my monitor*
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| Crank |
quote:
Francine wrote:
Francine, who really, never, ever, was a hooker!
[Edited by Francine]
There goes the corner office... |
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| Robin |
In our family we get 'nervous laughter'.
Usually I just get this really silly grin. My brother had it worse, he giggles. And the more 'inappropriate' it gets, the more he looses control over the giggles.
Let me tell ya folks...it ain't pretty. :D
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| VanBrujah |
Is a "fake-hooker" anything like a "fake-lawyer"?
I was just wondering, that's all.
VB |
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| mickeybar |
"Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."
- Dolly Parton as Truvy, Steel Magnolias
After my grandfather's funeral, (dad's dad,) in a family full of jokers, they had a gathering at my uncle's house which turned into a party. It started with my aunts and uncles telling funny stories from their childhood, and funny things about my grandfather, and ended up with almost everybody getting thrown into the pool. So much for the black wool dress. :o
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| fantayzya |
I'll never forget at the gathering after my Gram's funeral a bunch of my cousins and I were sitting around 'catching up.' They all live in different states from me and we don't see all that much of eachother. Well, we of course started reminiscing about Gram and what we all remembered. We didn't have many 'shared' memories due to the distance thing, other than from when we were all very small and everyone made the trip for Christmas. But it was really kewl how our memories were similar just the same. As we were talking I looked over at one of my cousins and she was grinning from ear to ear and shaking all over. She could tell when I realized what she was doing and winked at me. I lost it. Complete giggle attack. Good thing I wasn't drinking what we all had when visiting Gram (either Pepsi or Milk lol) or I would have sprayed everyone. Of course that got everyone's attention and they looked at me like I had 3 heads so I pointed at Cheryl (the instigator) Instantly the whole group was laughing hysterically as it was obvious to everyone what Cheryl was doing.
Gram was a very quiet lady. I never remember hearing her raise her voice, though I'm sure my mom would tell you she did lol. I don't remember ever hearing my Gram actually laugh. But if things got silly, and with my Gramps they often did and still do, you could be sure that if you looked over at Gram, even though you'll never hear a sound from her direction, she'd be sitting there grinning from ear to ear and shaking all over with the giggles. To this day that's what I miss most about her. Well, okay that and the Pepsi, and the windmill cookies, and the scarf she'd tie around her head when she had curlers in her hair, and... |
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| TrpltJanie |
quote:
Francine wrote:
Speaking of funerals, karma, I have a story for you.
Years back, at my grandmother's wake, my family really made an impression on the funeral director. It was the end of the evening, and everyone was getting their coats on. I started to sing Roll Out the Barrel. It's a song my grandmother used to play on the piano, and we would all sing along with her. Well, I am singing softly, and it just was contagious. The next thing you know, everyone is singing! It was a riot! We were singing real loud, and laughing, and hugging. I remember the funeral director was standing in the doorway to his office with this look on his face. I am quite sure he thought we were nutty!
And, here is an even better story for you.
Some years back I lost a friend to cancer. I had helped with her hospice, and it was a tough time for everyone. After the funeral, we were at a local Italian restaurant for breakfast. There is a bar attached to the restauant, and several of us were in the bar. I even ordered a drink, which surprised some folks. Well, we are talking, and the bartender comes over, then my friend's brother proceeds to start talking about how I used to be a hooker! (for the record, and before rumors start flying I was never a hooker) Well, he expects I am going to loudly holler at him for saying such a thing. Boy did I surprise him when I went along with it! It was hilarious!
The story gets better. I had mentioned, prior to the hooker conversation, the name of where I work now to the bartender. Well, it turns out that he knows someone who knows my boss!! A few days leter, my boss and I are going over jobs and such, and he tells me he has something he just has to ask me. You guessed it! He asks me if I was in Santi's the other morning, and did I tell the bartender I was at one time a hooker! I proudly looked up, and said "Yup!" Oh my goodness, it was hysterical! My boss got this look on his face. I mean it was tough enough for him to take in that I was in Santi's bar on any morning, but to hear I was once a hooker? The poor man! I, of course, quickly filled him in on the entire story. To this day, it is still a story that gets kicked around!
You just have to have a sense of humor in life, you know?
Quack!
Francine, who really, never, ever, was a hooker!
[Edited by Francine]
Hehehehehehehe....I'm gonna hold this over your head when I want more chocolates.......*carries a paper bag* Guys, guess what I found in Francine's closet! |
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| Mike |
You know the crowd of people leaving a theatre, especially at a play as opposed to a movie?
Picture yourself in it, slowly inching your way out of the theatre towards the doors. The play has just been a high-brow Shakespeare tragedy in Stratford Ontario (Michiganders will know where).
In a loud voice, my friend turns to me and says,"Now wasn't that better than that porno flick YOU wanted to see?"
I was speechless, it took my so by surprise!
But my shock was alleviated by another patron - an old lady - turned around and said to me, "That's OK, honey. You can go see that porno flick tonight!"
I continue to look for ways to get this friend back, but it does make me laugh when I think of it! |
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| samogram |
My good friend Sallie told me Monday she has breast cancer and is scheduled for a mastectomy on Friday.
I was really upset. We have lunch together every other Tuesday and had lunch yesterday.
She started to tell me about her conversations with the Dr. and how she "wants to have 'em both lopped off" so she's not "lopsided." I laugh. She says, "No really." She said the Dr. said "Well, have you thought instead about recontructive surgery?" She leans in to me and the table the same way I'm sure she leaned in to the Dr. and said, "T told him, 'I'm 72 years old and I've done everything I'm going to do with these breasts and I gave up my stripper job a few weeks ago when I had bruises all over from totally my car.'" I laugh louder and longer and people in the restaurant start to stare.
Sallie says that the Dr. told her she could probably get her insurance to pay for the double lopping if she takes "before" and "after" photos. My mouth flies open wide enough to catch flying elephants and she continues.... Our friend Eddie says, "Oh, no, Sallie's going to be taking porn pictures." Sallie says there is no way she is going to take pictures to be developed but she can use her digital camera. Eddie says, "So you circulate your pornography on the internet." Sallie laughs but continues, "Well, I have to Gene [her stoic and rather pompous husband] take the pictures. Now you know he hasn't seen thses breasts in years and now he's going to take pictures of these 44 longs! I mean we sleep together but we don't look at each other!"
I am still concerned for my friend. I have another friend dying of cancer right now and it's easy to get maudlin, but God bless, Sallie, we will all make it through this.
Then there was the time my m-i-l was talking to the funeral director about her mother's funeral and said it looked like they were working with a skeleton crew or all the jokes my s-i-l hears everyday in his job as a funeral director.... |
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| Peggo |
Inappropiate laughter is often the best kind, and isn't it funny it's the times we remember best?
I still remember trying to hold in a totally riotous laugh at my great uncle's wedding.
I'd much rather laugh than cry, but often the two happen at the same time.
Life. Go figure! |
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| Scarlet |
okay I had to get in on this one , you see in my family you either laugh or puke( I come from a very weak stomached family) at funerals or in tough times. I have my mom to thank for my humor,she had cancer for 11 years and even on the day she died she was cracking jokes. She told me that she wanted me to figure out a way to rigg the casket so when people went by and said how good she looked( she weighed about 80 pounds when she passed)She could sit up and ask them "what the Hell are you talking about " and "What are you on drugs", This is the woman that told me to sprinkle some of her ashes in the Haunted Mansion
in WDW so when I came back I could visit her and that It was so dusty no one would know. I have so many stories about her and I have her to thank for my humor . At her funeral I got into a screaming match with my father, got yelled at for laughing and puked in the bushes, it was a tough few days. |
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| Tink *~*~* |
So you screamed, laughed AND puked. You're a classic overachiever! 11 years with cancer, I can't even imagine how it was for you and your family. I'm sure that was a wound that healed very slowly, if at all.
{{{{{Captain Scarlet}}}}} |
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