LOL

Posted on March 12, 2021September 12, 2024 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

I don’t know if I laugh out loud enough. Probably not many of us do. But, when I do, I get it. I understand the importance of comedy and laughter in our lives. And I want more!

I love being around people who make me laugh out loud, and I’m very lucky to say that many of the people in my life fill this role quite well. I dislike when people or movies try to get a cheap laugh by tearing someone else down or by trying to be crass. That’s not my type of comedy. (So, that rules out a good majority of current TV shows and movies for me.) I love witty comedy and, yes, I loves me some good puns.

I always thought “comedic timing” was about the timing of a live comedy performance or maybe the rhythm and pace of lines in a TV show or movie. It never occurred to me that comedic timing can also be the actual time period of a joke. Certain phrases or lines that may have been big hits decades ago may make no sense in modern context. (And a slew of lines from 80s TV shows and commercials just rang through my head.) And certain subjects definitely aren’t ready to be the core of jokes until decades from now. There’s also our own personal comedic timing. Things that have cracked me up in the past may not elicit the same response now. And I think this is what makes comedy so magical. It’s fluid and timely, and when it hits you, it’s unexpected. That’s what makes it come alive.

The other night, as I was reading this book, I completely lost it. I was in hysterics. And as I tried to explain the reason for my laughter attack to my husband, I just laughed harder. Actual tears were streaming down my face to the point where I didn’t know if I was laughing or crying, and I couldn’t catch my breath. These kind of laughter fits are treasured ones. And it made me reflect on other times in my life when I’ve laughed uncontrollably:

–Watching Wayne’s World for the first time in a budget theatre with my dad and brother
–Many instances with my childhood family, but the one that sticks out right now is at a restaurant we went to on vacation
–Seeing a Gary Larson cartoon in high school (which I cannot find even on the great wide Internet) of a caveman family riding an elephant, with the little boy saying, “Coast, Dad. Coast.”
–Reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason on a friend’s houseboat
–Watching a live clown show (Yes, clown show) at the local library (I definitely didn’t see that one coming)
–Reading Darth Vader and Son on the couch, while holding my new baby boy. (Serious gasping for air on this one–although my hormones were all over the place)
–Playing a video game with my son
–Laughing in bed with my daughter about a misunderstood deadly calf
–Reading Jenny Lawson’s book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, on the couch before bed

The interesting thing, of course, is that I can remember exactly where I was and who I was with during each of these “episodes.” There are countless others and ones on smaller scales. And even though I may not be able to repeat these laugh-out-loud moments with the same triggers, I like remembering them. It reminds me to seek out more of these moments in my life. The moments that make me forget whatever silly thing I was worried about and plant me very firmly in enjoying the now.

“Studies show that laughter relieves pain, relaxes stress, and stimulates the immune system.”

From House Calls by Patch Adams

Finger Plays

Posted on March 11, 2021October 1, 2024 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

I don’t know that I knew many of these growing up. I knew the classic, “Here is the Church and Here is the Steeple,” but that was about the extent of it. Since becoming a parent though, I realize how much I love these! Kids are drawn to the movement of the hands and fingers, and I love watching them try to puzzle out how to do these. There are so many finger plays out there. Here are some of my favorites:

Here’s a Cup of Tea

Two Little Friends

See also:
Songs
Rhymes

Two Little Friends

Posted on March 11, 2021May 2, 2023 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

This is one of my favorite finger plays and one we turn to often. It’s a great one for learning opposites and reinforcing rhyming words. We often leave out the finger play part and just do just the lyrics of this one while on a car ride. We take turns coming up with rhymes. I had always heard it as “Two Little Birds,” but I like “Two Little Friends,” since it allows for various finger puppets or little painted faces on fingers.

Lyrics:
Two little friends, sitting on a hill
One named Jack and one named Jill.
Run away, Jack!
Run away, Jill!
Come back, Jack!
Come back, Jill!

After that, you can start having fun with the lyrics. If the friends are sitting on a cloud, one can be named “quiet” and one named “loud.”

Or they can be sitting on a pot, with one named “cold” and one named “hot.” Sometimes the places get rather silly as I search for rhyming words. When I do “young” and “old,” these poor friends always seem to end up sitting on some mold. But, I think the silliness adds to the fun. It’s a good brain exercise for me as I try to keep it going, and it usually holds the kids’ attention as they try to guess the rhyming opposite word.

Alina Celeste has a great example of just how fun this rhyming finger play can be!

There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather

Posted on March 11, 2021May 3, 2023 by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

2017
by Linda Akeson McGurk

I have to say, I am a total wuss about weather. I’ve spent most of my life living in mild, warm climates. I easily get “too hot” or “too cold,” and being a homebody anyway, it’s a safe bet that turning back to go into the house comes quicker to me than most.

All that being said, I KNOW in my heart the importance of being outside. I can feel it. When I was a kid and we were outside for recess or break, regardless of “weather” ( I will say heavily in quotes), I loved the feeling of wind on my face or a chill in the air or the warm sun shining down and heating my head. As a grown-up, I have the ability to go in when it’s the slightest bit uncomfortable. But, oddly, I miss the “uncomfortableness” of being outside in different weather.

Every time I read The Secret Garden, I vow to spend our entire days outside. I want our kids to run and be out in nature. Not only for their health and mental well-being, but as a way to connect with the natural world. To love it and care for it. Our world needs us as much as we need it. Having people trapped inside and staring at devices all day isn’t doing our world any good for gaining supporters who will step up for our precious Mother Nature. A huge disconnect has happened, and people don’t make the important connections about where their “stuff” is coming from and what will happen to it when they’re done with it.

I’m digressing though. There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather is the author’s story and exploration of children’s time with Nature. Although her girls were born in the U.S., Linda was born in Sweden, where kids are encouraged to be outside playing, no matter the weather. So, when her family has a 6-month stay in Sweden after news of a sick family member there, the author takes the opportunity to reflect on the different approach taken in her native country.

In Sweden, outdoor time, especially for children, is highly valued. School tests and academics at ridiculously young ages are something this mom faced in her American hometown, but when her girls enroll in Swedish schools, the emphasis on play and Nature far outweighs stressful academic benchmarks. Linda goes on to reflect on other parental issues, germs and technology and when to give kids more freedom.

This book has truly been an inspiration, and I hope to re-read it again soon. Even as a parent who highly limits screen time, I find that, especially with Covid, our outdoor time has been lacking this past year. Getting out of the house with the kids is TOUGH, and I appreciate that the author acknowledges she faces these same struggles too. Sometimes, even just to step onto our front step feels like a major accomplishment. But this book has helped me realize what I’ve known all along. It’s always worth it. I need to be okay with the getting-out-the-door battles or the risk that the outing will be a big, fat fail, because the times that do work are wonderful. I think the more it can be habit and routine, the more likely it will happen. And, yes, I agree, that when the kids have other kids to play with, instead of their old mama, they’ll be inspired to play outdoors more frequently and for longer. It’s been a strange year for that piece of the puzzle. But as far as Nature goes, it’s always there waiting, regardless of the weather.

You may also enjoy:
The Secret Garden
The Year of Living Danishly