Bone Tired

A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired. Proverbs 17:22 (The Message)

It has been an extremely busy couple of weeks. When I am not painting, moving boxes or cleaning at home, I am rushing around at work planning events and training new staff. Our “season” is in full swing. We’ve opened two new exhibits, History Fair is around the corner and we hosted two big special events this week as well. While I am only working eighteen of twenty-six possible work days in October (between being home for workmen and an upcoming vacation), those eighteen I am working have been ten to twelve hour days. And I am beat. Often when I am exhausted and have lots going on in my life, I get solemn and bullish, just pushing my way through situations and circumstances. I tend to get into people’s way just so I can mark that task off the to do list. One of the things that helps me to slow down and take it easy is humor. And despite the stress, I have had several moments of laugh out loud reminders to take it easy. Here are a few:

At a major art event in our community, I was working the information booth. We were asking people to vote for their favorite public art exhibitor and giving them stickers from our local elections office that said, “I Voted” when they were done. We had 1000 stickers, but ran out about an hour before the event ended. People could still vote, they just didn’t get a sticker. One man, about 55 or so, said to me, “Where’s my sticker? I want a sticker.” When I replied that they were all gone, he said, “Oh, s*^t!” and stomped away.

At that same art event, two young people were arguing over who they should vote for. One said, “I want to vote for the anarchists.” He meant the people from the Society for Creative Anachronisms who were dressed in medieval costumes.

At another event held one evening at our Historical Park as we were locking up, we spotted a young woman still wandering around in the dark. Our maintenance guy asked her who she was and she kept walking away, replying over her shoulder, “I’m Lisa.” He said, “No really, who are you?” She replied the same answer. This question and answer continued as she darted around the park and he followed her. Our maintenance guy is in his 70s and though spry was getting frustrated. The rest of us were watching and laughing and waiting for him to pick her up over his shoulder and heave her over the fence. He never did, but we’ve got a great joke going about “I’m not Lisa. My name is Julie.”

One of our Dobermans, Sky, who is solid black brushed up against a freshly painted door frame last weekend. She is now striped like a skunk and I laugh every time I see her.

Husband and I went out for dinner and as we got ready to leave, our waiter said, “Now you cool cats, have a great evening!” He was so young he wasn’t even born when the phrase “cool cats” was coined, and I doubt he realized that those cool cats would be asleep by 10:00!

Youngest son has started working at a local fire station. On one of his first shifts, he was called out to care for a man who was drunk and hit a brick wall. While walking.

My staff gave me a talking Bosses Day card that has these two little characters on it. The text reads, “Slow down, Boss, Sit! Stay! Relax! You’ve been working like a Dog! Good Boss! You’re Always Top Dog with us! Hope Your Boss’s day is a treat!” When you open the card, the characters say in high pitched voices, “Bow Wow! Bow Wow! You gotta love the Bow Wow Boss. Get it. We bow to you and we wow to you. We are enamored with your bossiness.” That just cracked me up. Because I am sure full of bossiness.

Finally, a fellow blogger sent me the following e-mail. Number 23 defines me and number 24 is hysterical.

Truths For Mature Humans

1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after BluRay? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.

13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

17. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

24. The first testicular guard, the “Cup,” was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974.That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Hope these things give you a smile today. Especially if you are stressed. Remember laughter is good for your bones. Particularly when you are bone tired. Bow Wow! Get it? Bone tired?