I have no idea how this will come together, but when I hear this phrase it always makes me want to laugh a little and the corners of my mouth start to twitch. So at the very least i need to put this much of a post to paper, and start out. Who knows where it will lead. Flight of ideas? The Diane Henders method of beginning a blog post? Suddenly before you know it, you have the whole thing put together and there it lies before you. It’s taken shape and come together and is a thing of beauty…a work of art. A blog post worthy of at least being long-listed for the Man Booker award. It’s insightful, deep, relevant and so in tune with the times. It hits at the heart of modern society, seeming to understand the soul of the middle aged adults of today and….blech. What drivel.

OK, maybe I blather and babble, but part of what I said was true, that phrase does turn up the corners of my mouth when I hear it and I have no idea why I think it’s funny. It almost makes me feel like a baby…imagine one not quite old enough to crawl, sitting up and seeing something that jut delights them. They clap their chubby little hands together and giggle with delight over and over again. Inside, that’s how I feel. The little baby is clapping and giggling.

Life seems so serious lately, and it occurred to me recently that perhaps we aren’t giggling enough. Reader’s Digest has a section called “Laughter:the Best Medicine”, and I have to say it’s true. We feel better when we laugh, endorphins are released. You get more oxygen, release stress, soothe tension in the short term and and improve the immune system, relive pain and improve your mood in the long term, among other  benefits according to the Mayo Clinic.

It’s easy to find things to laugh at too, just look around you, there are no shortage of them. Darwin Award winners abound! If you have pets, I’ll bet like mine they do ridiculous things from time to time. The most recent example is courtesy of my husband, and a purchase he recently made of yet another one of those things I just don’t get – a fidget spinner. But hey, he’s amused by it so that’s enough for me, and what’s even better, so is our cat, Inara, who has now figured out how to make it go on our hardwood floors. The sad part is, I was thinking “look how smart my cat is” until I did a search on YouTube for ‘cat playing fidget spinner’ and got ‘About 3,140,000 results’. Amazing and deflating all at the same time.

Go to any shopping mall, and just sit and start people watching. It won’t take long before you’re laughing at least on the inside, and probably shaking your head thinking “who dressed you this morning?”  From the mismatched tops and bottoms, to the absurd footwear, I mean really. Are they just there for my amusement and delight? Honestly, now I understand why guppies eat their young. And goth – I didn’t even know that was still a thing! I look at kids dressed up like that and want to laugh out loud. There is nothing like working hard at putting on a costume that says “I’m unique, I’m not mainstream, I’m not like the rest of you, I’m going against the tide” and then hanging out with 10 of your closest friends who look exactly like you.

Christmas decorations are up on a lot of houses now. Ours are done, and we try to keep it tasteful, not too many. We’re not going all Griswold on the neighbors, but I have noticed as I’m out and about there are some interesting things folks do with lights. I’m not quite sure of why people wrap only the trunk of a tree and quit when they hit the lower branches. Then there are the newest decorations, the laser lights on the entire side of your house. I’m old fashioned I guess, I love the look of lights nicely attached to the edge of the roofline, but I know it can be risky to get up on a ladder and get them attached, so you best know what you’re doing for that project. Otherwise ALL the neighbors are going to laugh at you when you explain why you have casts on both legs and are on crutches in the middle of winter. (I remember when a girlfriend’s husband slipped on the ice one year after a few too many holiday beverages during a poker game, breaking both wrists. Ponder for a moment how an accountant explains casts and sweatpants to the office…but you might not want to ponder that scenario too long. Let’s just say she was thrilled when the casts came off.)

The Minnesota Vikings played the Green Bay Packers last night in one of their regular season match ups. For the first time in 24 years, the Vikings shut out a team 16-0 (and in 46 years for the Packers that they were shut out!) Granted, it may well have been due in part to Aaron Rogers being out with a season ending injury, but I believe we still would have won regardless.  I mean come on, anyone who’s been watching the Vikings this year knows this team is on fire, with their 12-3 record. They’re in the playoffs, and the Packers aren’t! (That’s my nana-nana-boo-boo moment to my former neighbor and friend Corey, who I’m pretty sure doesn’t read my blog, but then again, I might be wrong. If I am, and he does, Corey, consider this the big raspberry I’ve waited years to give you.)

For a real corker of a “Boom Goes the Dynamite” moment, I leave you with this. A TV stunt that went awry, and ends up being funny but could have ended so very badly. It is pretty amusing, but clearly, don’t do this at home.

Merry Christmas everyone, and may all your “Boom Goes the Dynamite” moments be safe ones!