Sometimes You Gotta Laugh to Keep From Crying

This post is in response to several posts that I posted about a student that acted up with me.

* Got Clowned Yesterday
* But I Brought You Flowers

Let me say this first, I teach children that are 3 years old or just recently turned 4 years old. The conventional thinking goes out of the window with these students.

An added bonus is that they are teacher's children. Most of these students mother, father, or both parents work or teach in the school district. This makes them more advanced at the age of 3 and 4 than normal students. Several of them can write their names, their family's names, or their friends' names. One of them has started to reading three and four letter words.

I really identify with these students, because I was just like them. My father (Dr. Madkins) was a college professor. My mother (Ms. Linda) is still a teacher. I was very advanced for my age. I could read and write when I entered kindergarten. I see so much of myself in many of my students. It's scary at times, too.

P.S. My father was a pastor and is a preacher. I should be one messed up child. I am a PK, double TK. Lord, have mercy.

Back to the reason for this post…

I am pretty happy-go-lucky. Not much upsets me, if it does; I try to turn it into a positive. My philosophy is... "It can only bother me, if I let it bother me." I grew up in an environment where craziness happened everyday. It was family members talking crazy. It was family members doing something so goofy that it didn't make sense. It was stuff happen at church that I couldn't even imagine.

I learned to laugh at life at an early age from my father and mother.

My mother is good at messing with you and having you busting a gut and she hasn't even cracked a smile. She used to do that to us in church all the time.

My father has a great sense of humor. He made folk laugh all the time without even trying to make them laugh.

My mother would sometimes just be laughing. My brother and I would ask, "Mama, why are you laughing?" Her response would be, "Sometimes you gotta laugh to keep from crying." I still ain't figured that out yet.

The laughter lesson I learned from my mother is… "Learn to laugh at yourself." If you are laughing at yourself, you retain the power of your stupidness.

My mother worked at Wal-Mart. She was forever coming home telling us about the crazy things that happened to her, most of them at her own doing. Here's one of those stories.

"Girl, let me tell you what happened today. I was working in the fragrance department. This man came by and said, 'Do you all have any cool water?' I said, 'Yea, a fountain is right over there.' The man looked at me like I was crazy. He said, 'Mame, do y'all have the cologne called Cool Water?" I looked at him like he was crazy. I showed him where the men's cologne was. I cracked up laughing. I thought he wanted something to drink. I didn't know he was talking about some cologne. I have been laughing about that all day."

The laughter lesson I learned from my father is… "Watch a comedy everyday." In essence, this meant, you need to laugh everyday.

I am a big fan of Andy Griffin and The Beverly Hillbillies because of my father. He would sit for hours and watch video tapes of the shows. My baby brother (24) and sister (21) watch those shows, too. We all grew up watching the video tapes with my father.

I make sure I laugh everyday. I try to laugh at myself, too. That isn't always easy because I tend to be hard on myself. I am learning to do that more and more each day.

I am very thankful that God blessed me with a silly husband. He is always making me laugh.

P.S. When life gets too rough, remember what Ms. Linda says… Sometimes, you gotta laugh to keep from crying.