Whether teaching computers or adding an observation to someone’s comment, my perspective is slightly cock-eyed. Laughter is one of my favorite activities. Unfortunately for my husband and offspring, they often unenthusiastically play the part of straight man to my take on life.

As a recipient of kindnesses many times in my life, from job offers to the generosity of others during my thirteen-year ordeal as a single mother, I’ve had an idea of “giving back” for a long time.

I’ve started five unrelated small businesses, none requiring much startup capital. Some ended financially more profitable than others, but all ended in the black, and provided me the means to support four very young children to adulthood.

While battling food addictions and foolish shortcut dieting, I’ve managed to keep forty-five pounds off (for at least six months out of the year) for ten years by making a lifestyle change. I’ve played several seasons, each with different passions — I painted and sold oil portraits to put myself through college, with a young family I shoveled my backyard to create a prolific vegetable garden, and am in the process of publishing a book (but who isn’t?).

I’ve had regrets, suffering the consequences of poor choices, but learned and painfully moved on. I love lists (including the one labeled “Lists to Pass On”), never paid a late fee, re-tiled a bathroom shower, tore down a wall and re-built it (thanks to Home Depot classes), survived teenagers who were plagued with a variety of addictions, cared for aging parents (both in their home and in mine, one with Alzheimer’s), taught college part-time for eight years (in Social Sciences and Business fields), wrote software manuals and trained for law firms, received recognition in two citywide and nationwide fiction writing contests, and love to conduct workshops and do public speaking.

We are living in a very different world. I still remember, decades later, Red Skelton getting his thumb caught in a prop drawer. A little ad libbed or planned?  It wasn’t important. He chuckled at himself, his eyes tearing from the laughs. I don’t know about anyone else, but watching the 19-inch black and white screen, I laughed out loud. Today we applaud when comedians spout sarcastic, clever or cutting monologues. I miss the days my stomach hurt from laughing.

Life is funny, sometimes not as we run our obstacle course, but in retrospect. I think I used to be sane, but then I married and had children. No maybe it was a little before that, like when I turned four.

Let me introduce you to my family.  It will help you with any future references to some of the infamous people in my life.

As long as there are kids, men, extended family, and technology in my life, I don’t foresee running out of material any time soon. If you enjoy my quirky takes, please use one of the methods to subscribe to this blog. For those of you as blog challenged as I was just a week ago, come back and check occasionally for new posts about your soon-to-be favorite dysfunctional family. You might just catch yourself in one of my posts, under an assumed name, of course.

I hope you enjoy these slices of life about this, that and anything at all.  Empathize, commiserate, or offer condolences. But most of all, I hope you smile. Or even laugh out loud.

Send me an email!  I’d love to hear from you.