Laugh At Yourself
Picture one of those old movies where a crazy series of events happen that ultimately end with the comic relief on the floor.
I found a fresh turkey half price at the store and brought it home. It was huge, larger than I normally buy. I brought it in from the car, but the counters in my tiny kitchen were already filled with the other bags, so I set its bag and a few others on the floor for a few minutes. The turkey wouldn't fit in our fridge, so I decided to put it straight into the roaster oven.
The roaster oven was stored really high, but I couldn’t wait for my husband to get home. I tugged it down, lost my balance, and stumbled. The turkey, being fresh, had already started to leak fluids out of the bag.
I slipped on the juices, tripped on the turkey, toppled over the grocery bags that were on the floor, and slammed the roaster onto the dishwasher door I had forgotten to close, knocking the door out of alignment. Somewhere in all that I cut my hand, which began to bleed all over everything. My hand was sprained, but not broken.
This is the sort of thing that could only happen to me, but it happens to me a lot. Well, I don’t trip over turkeys on a regular basis, but you know what I mean. In my long life as a professional klutz and mistake-maker, I’ve learned an important lesson: when everything falls apart, I can cry and be embarrassed, or I can laugh at myself. When the situation allows, I try to choose laughter. My choice provided entertainment to my friends and made me feel better. Now admittedly, I didn’t start laughing while I was sprawled on the floor, bleeding, or waiting for the pain to subside. But after that…then I laughed.
At my advanced age, it’s unlikely I’m going to get any more coordinated, or make fewer mistakes, so it’s less stressful and better for my morale if I learn to take it in stride and find the fun in whatever I can. Heavenly Father said we aren’t perfect. We can’t be in this life. So, why should we be embarrassed when we fall on our faces… or a half-price turkey? In the eternal scheme of things, it won’t make a bit of difference that I made a fool of myself in the kitchen. If it won’t affect my salvation, I won’t let it affect my mood.
Make a choice…laughter or tears. Laughter is more fun.
