Summary

The author reflects on the quirky and unpredictable nature of life, emphasizing the importance of humor and resilience in the face of its oddities.

Abstract

The article titled "Life is Weird. Let’s laugh about it." is a humorous and introspective piece where the author shares personal anecdotes about the peculiarities of daily life. From dealing with a toddler at night to confronting her son's behavioral issues, the author highlights the unpredictability of life. She contrasts her past expectations of perfection with her current acceptance of life's imperfections, such as serving convenience foods and parenting challenges. The author also touches on her recent diagnosis of ADHD, which has given her a new perspective on her perceived shortcomings. The essay weaves in the joy of learning, the absurdity of life's events, and the influence of Jane Austen's works and Steven Colbert's insights on faith, comedy, and the human spirit. The author invites readers to embrace life's weirdness, suggesting that laughter and community are antidotes to life's absurdities.

Opinions

The author believes in the power of laughter to cope with life's absurdities and challenges.
There is an expressed sentiment that life's events often defy logic and expectation, such as the "rule of threes" in occurrences like funerals or household mishaps.
The author reflects on her journey from being a "Real Food Legalist" to someone who accepts the imperfections of daily life.
Parenting challenges, such as her five-year-old's aggressive behavior, are acknowledged with a mix of concern and humor.
The author values the joy of discovery, even if it comes from re-learning things due to forgetfulness associated with ADHD.
She shares a deep appreciation for Jane Austen's literature and its ability to illuminate the absurdity of everyday life.
The essay conveys a sense of camaraderie, inviting readers to share their own weird life experiences.
The author's favorite Jane Austen novel is "Mansfield Park," chosen out of empathy for the underappreciated work.
Steven Colbert's views on the relationship between faith, comedy, and the human spirit resonate with the author, reinforcing the theme of laughter in the face of adversity.

Life is Weird. Let’s laugh about it.

Puffballs, Jane Austen, and things that happen in threes

Original artwork by my children. Yeah I don’t know either.

It’s 11:10 p.m. I’m sitting on the living room floor, sticking puffballs of various sizes and colors into an empty Utz pretzel container, while my toddler lifts the back of my pajama shirt and rolls a frigid toy train up my spine. He has a cold and isn’t sleeping well. He thinks it’s playtime. I think it’s not.

Life is weird.

I served both chicken nuggets and frozen pizza for dinner this week, something I never would have dreamed of a couple years ago when I was a Real Food Legalist burning myself out with good intentions and impossible standards.

Life is weird.

My five-year-old has been punching kids at our homeschool co-op and we’re trying to figure out what’s going on and how to deal with it. Nothing seems to be helping. If I did something wrong when I was a kid, I felt such remorse that I would cry for hours and didn’t need punishment to learn my lesson. (Looking back, maybe that wasn’t so healthy?)

Life is weird.

My kids play a game where they run on our bed, jump up, and fall down while shouting “I’m running to the macancy!” (It’s like vacancy, but with an “m.”) I have no idea what it means but they think it’s the best thing in the world.

Yeah, weird.

I thought I was the blandest person on earth with no unique qualities except perhaps that I constantly forgot things, cried more than my friends, was terrified of heights and tweezers and speaking in front of the class, and can’t complete a to-do list to save my life. Turns out I have ADHD.

Life is really stinkin’ weird.

My thirteen-year-old, grappling with severe OCD and who knows what else, said to me the other day, “I wonder how my life ranks in the weirdest lives of all time.”

And his life is weird, yes. But so is mine and yours and everyone’s.

Why do things happen in threes? Like funerals. Or things breaking. Last week our dishwasher broke, then I dropped my phone and shattered the screen, and then I left the van door open and killed the battery.

I listen to science podcasts in the car with my daughter on the way to and from dance class. Every episode, I learn something that makes me go, “What?! That’s so weird!” Like black holes causing things to become “spaghettified” or “laser” being an acronym for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation” or flamingos turning pink because of all the shrimp they eat. You just can’t make this stuff up! (If you already knew all these things, good for you! The nice thing about being forgetful is that even if I’ve learned something before, I still get the joy of discovery when I learn it again!)

So, I’m embracing the weirdness today. (Tonight? What time is it now? And why is my toddler still up?!)

It reminds me of Jane Austen’s ability to draw our attention to the absurdity of every day life. (Maybe it’s time to reread my favorite Jane Austen novel and be surprised because I forgot most of the plot.)

And that reminds me of this interview with Steven Colbert where he talked about laughing in the face of sadness because in light of our eternal hope, death does not get the last word.

So if there’s some relationship between my faith and my comedy, it’s that no matter what happens, you are never defeated.

You must understand and see this, in light of eternity, and find some way to love and laugh with each other.

— Steven Colbert

Do me a favor: Respond to this article with something weird about your life. Because it’s always better to laugh with friends.

Now back to cleaning up puffballs while my toddler blows his nose into all the cloth napkins and then puts them in the garbage.

P.S. My favorite Jane Austen novel is whichever one I’m reading. Or maybe Mansfield Park because it doesn’t seem to be anyone’s favorite and I feel sorry for it. And it’s actually really great.

Key Message: Let’s laugh in our joy and in our sadness and in our confusion. And let’s do it together.

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