27. Laugh at Yourself

On Tuesday, when my van died in the Meijer parking lot, I literally sat there laughing for a minute. Lena piped up from the backseat, "Why are you laughing?" When I told her the van was dead, she declared vehemently, "That's not funny!" But it really was. And you know what's even funnier? The reason my van died. My mechanic called me yesterday with the news . . . it was out of gas. Lol. Seriously! I had it towed to the mechanic because it was out of gas!! In my defense, the gas gauge did suddenly stop working. It said I still had a quarter tank. So here's a mini life lesson: don't trust your gas gauge! Do you really blame me for assuming the worst after all the car trouble I've had in my life? Haha.

I realized during this whole debacle that there is a lesson to be learned here. I could have been mortified. Or I could have been angry that I paid $42 for the mechanic to tell me I was out of gas. But I can honestly laugh about the whole scenario. Because it's really funny! Haha. The lesson is this: don't take yourself too seriously. When something has the potential to be embarrassing or frustrating or hurtful, do your best to find the humor in it.

In case you need some more examples . . .

• I failed my driver's test the first time I took it . . . that's funny
• I hit myself in the face with the paddle while playing ping-pong . . . that's funny
• I tried to make a recipe out of a cookbook called "Anyone Can Cook." My chicken ended up so charred that I threw it in the trash and made PB&J for dinner . . . that's funny
• Lena sometimes pretends her legs don't work in Meijer . . . that's funny

• I gave all of my kids and my cat 4-letter "L" names . . . that's funny
• Lucy once told me that she made a wish on a dandelion that she didn't have parents . . . that's funny
• I got so huge while pregnant that I was asked every day if I was having twins or "due any day" . . . that's funny

• I'm 31 years old and I'm terrified of bears . . . that's funny
• When I found out Levi's due date I said, "I just don't want a Leap Day baby." My water broke 2 weeks early, and sure enough, he arrived on Leap Day . . . that's funny
• I suck at Pinterest projects . . . that's funny

• As I was being wheeled out of the hospital after my D&C, I sneezed twice and passed out. The whole day was traumatic, but that part of it was funny.

I have a huge amount of embarrassing stories that I still can't laugh at and will not be sharing, but in general, I find you either laugh or cry - why not laugh?!

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