Ten Things of Thankful: Let's Laugh Edition

John takes a selfie with a statue of an alligator, which is on a brick wall in Baker City, Oregon

I love to laugh. Humor has always provided relief from stressful times. During my 3rd pregnancy, I spent the six weeks prior to my son's birth in the hospital, in an effort to prevent an extremely early delivery. (He managed to wait until 30 weeks--still very early, but much better than 24.)  Every night, I would be hooked up to a fetal monitor to see how he was doing. I would use that time to watch sit-coms on TV. More than one time, the nurse would come into my room to make sure everything was OK, because my laughter was causing the monitor to read strangely. I tried to sit still and behave, but I also welcomed the emotional relief that laughter brought to my situation.

Collectively, we are experiencing some stressful times right now, but there are many individuals who are helping--in lots of ways, including comic relief. I thought it might be fun for this week's Ten Things of Thankful post for me to share some funny sites/posts/clips I've seen recently, as well as some old favorites.  I'm thankful for all these examples of humor:

• The Instagram posts of Subpar Parks. She takes real one-star reviews of National Parks and turns them into beautiful posters. One of my favorites is her poster of Arches National Park. Her caption? "Nothing like the license plates" 
• The Twitter feed of the National Cowboy Museum. Tim, head of security at the museum, has been in charge of the twitter feed since mid-March. From the #Hashtags to the "Thanks, Tim" sign-off of his posts, he brings a smile to my face. 
• Carol Burnett's toilet paper sketch. Need I say more?

• Parody songs, like this one:

• A flyer that I found on my front door. I know what it meant, but I laugh thinking about me bouncing in a jump house as a way to relax. 

A flyer for Kangaroo Zoo, a bounce house, which reads, "Let's Bounce! A Gift from me to you to help you relax. . ."

• A sign I saw months ago in a restroom. I thought it was funny; John thought it made perfect sense to explain to tourists from Asia how to properly use western toilets. However, I'm not sure that commas are used with kanji, so that's a little funny too, right?

A sign that reads "For Safety and Maintenance Reasons, Please Do Not Stand on the Toilet Seats"

• This is an oldie, but just watching the enthusiasm with which this dog plows into the pile of leaves makes me laugh every time.

• This is an even older video, but it reminds me of my oldest son when he was about that same age, except he was laughing hard not at a paper ripping, but at John swinging a stick at a golf ball we found in the park.  I dare you not to laugh!

• Speaking of babies, my baby brother is having a birthday! In his honor, my mom put this photo (and others) on Facebook. I was so excited to realize that we had a photo with the pet ferret we had! We didn't have it for long, but it sure made me laugh, and seeing a photo of me holding it also made me laugh.

My mom sits on a floral couch and holds my baby brother, while my sister and I sit on either side of them. I am holding a ferret.

• I smile and laugh often with John. I don't think I mentioned it before, but one of the last things we did before everything shut down was we went curling! Let me tell you, I have a new respect for those Olympic curlers! First of all, the length of the rink is a LOT longer than it looks on TV. Secondly, it is NOT EASY to put one foot on the starting block, the other on a piece of Teflon (that the instructor told us is "slicker than snot"), then push off, all while trying to stay upright in a crouched position while pushing and aiming a 42-pound stone! Quite frankly, I couldn't do it, and I have bruises on my knees to prove it. The instructor sweetly asked if I wanted to try "the other way". And that is how I got to just push the stone with my broom, as I slowly walked down the ice. I felt like I was bowling with bumpers, but I didn't care. Anyway, I'll end my list with a short video of John demonstrating how curling is actually supposed to be done. 

 So, what things are you thankful for this week? What has made you laugh lately? Have you ever gone curling, and if so, how in the world did you manage to keep your foot on that slippery piece of Teflon?

Joining me at the blog hop:
The Prolific Pulse
MessyMimi's Meanderings
A Season and a Time
the Wakefield Doctrine
Carin's Gratitude
Recording Life Under the Radar
Backsies Is What There Is Not

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