…is to take myself less seriously!! What a great gift! My husband has been trying to give that exact gift to me ever since we met again as adults. But do you know how it goes when you get something you don’t want? Imagine the face – polite, stiff smile… but everyone can see that this gift is NOT what you had in mind.
I grew up in a family where we actually got things from our wish list. Why ask for a list, if you are going to buy other stuff YOU think they want? Then don’t ask for a wish list. Well, as a consequence, in my family, we wrote lovely, long wish lists for birthdays and Christmas – and indeed got something from the list every time. How is that for teaching your kids to wish for what you really want?
Anyway, I got side tracked here. The decades of receiving a gift I had NOT wished for. Humour. Even worse: being nudged to laugh of myself!! So I politely returned it. Didn’t even unwrap it.
And then, suddenly, now, mid-life, what do I find myself wanting? To laugh more, especially of myself. To ask fewer questions and not add comments from the head when the rest of the family is having a great laugh.
Laughing a lot more. Of silly things. Including myself – especially myself, actually. It is SO entertaining. And what makes me really happy? Listening to the rest of the family laughing, belly-laughs, just BEING, joining in. Not commenting, analysing, seeing the other side. How appropriate we just watched Mrs. Doubtfire?!!
Oh dear. This year I may just get what I REALLY want. Ho-ho-ho…. a hilarious year ahead, I’m going in!!