Organizing, disorganizing and Moving house

     Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. --Arnold Bennet, British Playwright

 The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.  ~e.e. cummings

     I am sure that somewhere in this vast universe there must be an award for the most disorganized woman. I am sure that I am in the running, perhaps passing all the leaders in a flash of speed. It will be one of the few races that I have ever won and certainly not the one I would choose if I had a choice. Have you ever had that feeling? As if someone just threw everything you own into the air, letting it fall where it will? That is my house at the moment. See, we are in the middle of packing. Why? Well, we are going to try to sell this house(in THIS market? Friends ask in amazement and horror) and buy another. Of course, we are doing it topsy turvey. We have a bid in for another house... it is something called a short sale, that step BEFORE foreclosure, so the Lender is taking its time. We don't mind that, actually. We are hoping that the Lender takes several months, enough time to pack up, clean up and at least market this house. Meanwhile, though, the house -- and our lives -- are in a state of complete Chaos.

 

Perhaps this is why we have started watching DVDs of Mel Brook's
Get Smart - Season 1 (The Original TV Series)
comedy . I still remember that immortal line when one Chaos leader looks at his subordinate (who has just immitated a motorcycle) and says firmly 'This is KAOS! We do not phfft! here!' Don't know why I loved that show but it still can make me groan and cringe and my sons adore it. Thank heavens, however, that they haven't started acting it out. THAT would be too much... on the other hand, a little light (and I do mean LIGHT) comedy is a welcomed change after the tension that packing always creates.

 

Of course, I am not the first one to recognize the power of laughter. There are quite a few articles on the subject: Laughter remains good Medicine, Laughter is the best medicine for your heart,  Laughter is good Medicine, Humor Therapy,  Laughter: The Best Medicine and the list goes on.  There are also books on the subject: THE LEARNING POWER OF LAUGHTER, The Healing Power of Humor etc. 

 

So why, I wonder do schools seem to think that Great Literature has to be grim? I have always wondered that, even as a young kid. I never knew why 'A Rose for Emily' was better than 'The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County'.  The first always made me want to weep, the second made me laugh until tearscame to my eyes. And these days, with all the stresses and strains of the economy and world conflict, surely we need laughter more than ever? I know that the kids do. Too many kids these days walk around with perpetual frowns. Laughter, the full out, 'this is too funny for words' kind, is missing... a chronic absence that leaves the world aching. So I am doing my small part -- every day we try to find something to laugh about. We watch silly shows (including Shakespeare's comedies), we do Mad Libs ( Star Wars Mad Lib, Indiana Jones Mad Libs, Kung Fu Panda Mad Libs), we act out silly plays... and sometimes, when I am feeling artistic, we film the latter.  It is amazing what a difference laughter makes to the day. If we can begin the day with a laugh, everything else just seems to fall into place.

 

I mentioned, in an older post, that we used something I called 'The Humor Curriculum'. I have decided that I will write up a tentative 'schedule' for the coming year. I am still in the process of 'roughing' out scope and sequence as well as learning goals but when I have it done, I will post it here for those who are interested in following it with us. Now the question becomes, in this chronically disorganized mess of home moving, when will I do this? Hmmmm.... something else to plan and organize!