I don’t mean to be. I guess I am just a funny lady. Whenever I have a public speaking engagement with multiple sessions inevitably someone will say “I told my husband he has to come tonight. You are SO funny.” Then I feel pressure to be what I didn’t really set out to be, funny.

The truth is I love to laugh. I like to find the absurdity and irony in even the toughest situations.

The night my two year old was diagnosed with cancer, our best friends were helping us frantically pack to travel eight hours from home for her treatment. One of them, not yet a dad, had tackled the task of collapsing the portable crib. Anyone who has attempted this feat for the first time knows it’s like trying to dismantle the Eiffel Tower, keep all the pieces connected and fit it into a pillowcase, without instructions to direct you. As he sweated and struggled I sat on the couch and burst out laughing at his efforts. ‘Really? ” he said. “At a time like this?” Especially at a time like that laughter was necessary. Laughter releases tension, relaxes our souls and gives us renewed perspective and energy.

Over the last two weeks, once during an Al-anon meeting and once during a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) when I was invited to share my truth, I did. And both times I was asked ‘have you ever thought about a career in stand up comedy’? I wanted to say, “Yes. So I became a preacher”, mostly just to see the reaction.

Truly. I’m glad when people can laugh heartily with me or even at me. It’s good. It’s healthy. And we need more of it. So go ahead. Belly laugh, guffaw, giggle and snort. It does us all good.