I mentioned last week that I'm looking for funny things in the day to day world. I asked my husband what he thought of my last blog entry describing the humor of middle aged aches and pains. His response, "It sounded like you were feeling sorry for yourself." Obviously, he "gets me."
I was not feeling sorry for myself. I was just making observations that I thought were funny. And I could do this with any age group. Babies are hilarious because of the mind trapped in an evolving body. Teenagers are funny with their braces and pimples and OMG everything is everything thinking. Pick an age group, I can make fun of it. And I'm sure that in 20 years when I am forgetting names (including my own), it will be hilarious.
Well, I had lunch with my son, Barnaby, this past Wednesday. I asked him if he was keeping up with all the election coverage, especially with it being the day after the vice presidential debate. Nonchalantly, he says "No, I've not really been following it." Stunned, I asked why not. And my Zen Master son lays it out very simply for me. "At this point, everyone has made up their minds. (Even the undecideds have decided.) There's nothing you can say to change anyone's mind at this point. I know who I'm voting for so what's the point of listening to anymore?" Case closed. I felt instantly better. The campaign season, which is way too long, just tugs relentlessly at our society. There's a sense of waiting to see which team will win out. Whose heart will be broken? Political ads in abundance. Businesses hold back, waiting for an answer. Election year is a slow death. With my son's Zen answer, I thought "yeah, there's peace in being decisive." So, I'm ready and waiting. Now if I can just stop checking the polls which scare or delight me on any given day.
Later in our discussion, the topic of permanent records came up. I was telling him that "If I could go back in time to when I was a teenager in school and still retain what I know now, I would definitely be a handful for my teachers. If they threatened that my actions were gonna be recorded in my permanent records, I'd say 'make sure you get everything in there.'"
Barnaby says "Mom, that comment's going into your permanent records! Everything you've done since leaving high school is in there! "
I gave him a questioning look and said "The high school that I went to is no longer a high school. It's been closed down for years."
He said "That doesn't matter, there's a file cabinet sitting out in an open field with your permanent records in it."
We both burst out laughing!
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