Things That Made Me Laugh

You ever have those moments when something funny happens to you and you have to tell someone about it? Well, I’ve had several of those moments lately – but each one individually wasn’t enough to write an entire blog about. (Not that I haven’t given it the ol’ college try before. Sometimes I can write about pretty much nothing at all!)

Nevertheless, I thought I could probably cobble together a blog about a few of those moments.

We’ll see how it goes anyway!

So I recently had my family in for the weekend. Before everyone arrived I was out running last-minute errands and I was at a big strip mall-type shopping center. I had several more stops to make and I suddenly remembered I had to get to a pet store to pick up some cat food lest the felines in utter starvation started gnawing on my brother’s leg in the middle of the night. Thinking that wasn’t exactly hostess-with-the-mostest behavior, I asked Siri for directions to the nearest pet store from my location.

I heard…

“…you have reached your destination.”

What? So I looked to my right and I was literally rolling past a PetsMart!

Egad.

I burst out laughing at myself and then parked. I was still laughing when I entered the store so the clerk at the checkout thought I was either a loony bird – or a very, very happy person.

But it was surely a blonde moment if I’ve ever had a blonde moment!

And, by the way, I have particular pet stores that I frequent, depending on which shopping area I’m near. I evidently have never needed pet supplies while in this particular shopping center before.

Now I know.

This next thing didn’t specifically happen to me – but to Vince. I’m sure he’s figured I’ve forgotten it by now…but sometimes my mind is a steel trap. Especially when it isn’t my gaffe.  It was his “blonde” moment…although he’d probably prefer I refer to it as a “senior” moment!

One morning he was making breakfast for us. This would mean it was either a Tuesday or a Sunday because I make breakfast for us all the other days of the week. That has no bearing on the story other than I apparently want to get credit for most of the breakfast-making duties. And, okay, so his breakfasts are way tastier than mine (hey, oatmeal is good for us!), but, again, that isn’t the point of the story.

The point of the story is that Vince was cracking eggs into the skillet when I walked into the kitchen and he, with a very confused look on his face, started searching on the floor and on the counter. I asked him what he was looking for and he replied, “The egg I just cracked; do you know what happened to it?”

I said, “No, honey – trust me, I didn’t come in here with the dastardly plan of walking off with your raw egg…!” Yeah, it was a smart-ass response, but I was only coming in to refill my coffee cup and wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the egg-cracking going on over at the other counter.

So he searched for a moment more, even casting an accusatory glance in the direction of the dog and then, shrugging his shoulders, cracked another egg into the skillet.

As we were settling down at the table to eat breakfast, he said, “Oh! I left my coffee near the stove.”  So, being the helpful partner I am (and the fact that I was closer to the stove), I got up to fetch his cup. I looked in and…

…you guessed it. There in the murky depths of his coffee cup was a yellow yolk peering up at me!

I started laughing and Vince, realizing what I was laughing about said, “Stop it!”

I think somewhere in his commentary after that was something to the effect that I should never tell anyone about it. But I could be remembering that wrong. (Heh. Heh.)

Another thing that made me laugh happened just the other day. I was out with Maggie for her first post-dinner walk. (There are three before she retires for the evening. She’s a high maintenance pooch.)

Anyway, I got as far as two doors down when we bumped into several neighbors. One was walking her two dogs and distributing neighborhood newsletters and the other two were outside being, well, neighborly.

Maggie, as you may have heard before, is relatively high strung – despite our assertion that she has calmed down a bit in recent months. And our neighbor Dave knows just how to rile her up. He calls her name and plays with her and pets her and then gets her to run around all crazy-like…and then he leaves and I get to deal with the aftermath.

Dave’s a fun neighbor, isn’t he?!

In truth, Maggie loves it and he dispels a little of her energy – so that’s a good thing. Right?

Anyway, I was talking to them while desperately maintaining a vice-like grip on Maggie’s leash because, well, she’s a runner. All of a sudden Dave and Barb started laughing and looking at the house in between theirs and mine. Our neighbors Steve and Meg have one of those “Ring” gizmos. Have you heard of these things? They can access the camera on a cell phone and are alerted whenever anyone comes up the driveway.

So, when Suzy dropped off the newsletter at their house, they were alerted that someone was around. And they could see our group on the sidewalk near their driveway.

Steve and Meg, by the way, were in Traverse City.

And, so…from that state Up North, Steve was yelling, “Maggie!!” into his phone – and Maggie was hearing his voice, but had no idea where he was.

So she was one befuddled puppy. I thought it was pretty funny that someone five hours away was getting my dog all barky and confused.

And, no, I don't have an actual photo of a riled up Maggie. Are you kidding? First off, any photo I managed to snap would be a complete blur. But mostly, there is no way I could hold her leash and my phone - and somehow manage to press the button to get a photo. So I'll simply post a picture of our Doggie Dearest looking a little fierce.

These days we have much about which we can be sad or upset. In no way am I dismissing or diminishing those upsetting events that surround us. But the one thing I do know is that we need to find something in life to smile about. 

My dog, my husband and even myself - those things I can laugh about.

And, now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for Maggie's walk. I've lost count which one this is.

Enjoy. And I hope you find something to smile about!