Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Life's too short


Well, that statement is obvious...but really, life's too short not to laugh.

I was born a bit serious and the older I get, the less serious I am. I love the quote from Kurt Vonnegut:

And somebody now might want to ask me, "Can't you ever be serious?" The
answer is, "No."

Two things happened today that made me stop and think.

The first one: I talked to my dad this afternoon and found out that my grandmother (the one I like) had a stroke. I spent most of the afternoon pacing around, waiting for details that didn't come. Don't let Grammy's nickname fool you; she is soft as a marshmallow on the outside, but made of steel. She is sharp as a tack and has cheated death several times (people in my family tend to live forever), and I hate the thought that she might end up with dementia. I'm sitting here waiting for a phone call from my dad.

The second thing: tonight was the first night of the new volunteer ESL term, and I dragged myself out of shock and went to class. One of my students, who was a student when I taught the beginner class last time (this time I'm teaching the next level up), asked me, "Are you always smiling?"

"Ask my husband - he'll tell you no!"

Really, though, I thought it was so sweet. Yes, I can be a little stick of dynamite, and it drives me crazy having to deal with Oregon drivers, lazy coworkers, and bicyclists that run red lights and have "share the road" stickers on their helmets. Lots of things, in fact, do piss me off.

But I suppose I should credit myself for being more positive, because while I do vent, I think smiling and laughing are the most important things of all.

I try to make my ESL class laugh to help them past their nervousness. I think I just like making people laugh in general - though not always on purpose :)

13 comments:

LL Cool Joe said...

I agree, I think it's a great gift to make people laugh. I too am a miserable git, but I do try to make people smile, and sometimes, just sometimes it makes me smile too. :)

Granny Annie said...

It sounds like you do a great job of wearing a proper public face. I know my customers thought I was a slice of sweet monkeybread. They had no idea that I often left my desk with a kindly smile on my face only to enter our sound proof storage vault to pound on the walls and scream curse words before returning to my desk wearing the same smile I left with.

vivavavoom said...

great quote. I need to work on it!! I am such a work in progress. I can learn a lot from you!!

Scarlet said...

First of all, I hope your Grammy is OK and that you get good news very soon.

Life's too short to be unhappy. I find humor in the most bizarre situations. I think you do, too, and you DO make me laugh. Whether you mean to be funny or not, I thank you for that. ;)

Anonymous said...

I am always cracking jokes with my partner-in-crime at work... that's what keeps me sane!

Riot Kitty said...

A miserable git - I love it!
I think I smile a lot at ESL because I love working with the people there. I love teaching adults, because they *want* to be there - I'd hate to be a high school teacher, where most of the kids are bored and totally unappreciative.

And yes, my Grammy seems to have no paralysis, just memory loss...

XO everyone ;)

Darth Weasel said...

keep us informed about your Grandmother. Perhaps Tuesday or Thursday we can repair to a nearby Moonstruck about 7ish?

Green tea said...

Yep..ife is too short to be serious all the time Kitty.
We need laughter,and not the kind Idiot George gave us either.
I hope your Grammy will be OK..
She is going on the prayer list at my church.

JLee said...

It's good to always be smiling and joyful. This is hard sometimes but I thought of movie I saw recently, where these men where imprisoned and became friends. When one would get down, the other said "we can always choose joy" meaning no matter what, you can choose to be happy. That really made me think!

Shionge said...

So so true RK, a smile is contagious and there let's all spread our cheers! ;D

listen for azure said...

I love it that I get to know all sides of you - that you share the venting and the screaming along with the love and kindness. Rare traits in one so damn smart, girl. I'm glad it looks like your grandma is on the road to recovery and although not religious, I'm sending good, universal energy her way and yours. LOVE YOU!!!

Riot Kitty said...

Thank you everybody! XO RK

PS...the word verification is "herword." LOL!

Fireblossom said...

As Kurt Vonnegut (as Kilgore Trout) once wrote: why is man born only to suffer and die? God answers, "why not?"

For some reason that always makes me snicker.