Luck and Love

I am a pessimist. I’ve even been accused of being negative at times. My mantras are “what can go wrong will go wrong,” “when it rains it pours,” and “hello disappointment.” How I managed to raise three well-adjusted daughters with sunny personalities is beyond me. Maybe it’s because kids tend to do the opposite of what their parents do. Whatever the reason, I’m glad they weren’t Negative Nellies like me.

Not to say that I’m perpetually down in the mouth, I’m not. I laugh quite a bit. Although now that I think about it, that might be due in part to my penchant for inappropriate humor. It’s also because sometimes I get to the point where I just have to laugh. When the situation has become just so ludicrous, there’s really no other option. Well, I guess I could cry but that makes my face all red and puffy.

Maddy has a great sense of humor. Like most kids, it’s usually when she’s not trying to be funny. For example, I went in to wake her up this morning. It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and I’m wearing a cream colored suit with a dark pink sweater (snazzy, no?). She opens her eyes, rubs her face and pinches me. “You’re not wearing green.” I ask her “How do you know I’m not wearing green underwear?” She replied, “I fold the laundry and I know you don’t have any, unless you’ve got fungus in your panties.” I had to laugh because I never thought I’d be discussing moldy undergarments at 7am.

I have a husband who makes me laugh, mostly at myself. I have tried to curb my tendency to fly off the handle over stupid things, but lately when I’ve succumbed to the temptation, he’s usually looking. For example, I yelled at the dryer last week. Because appliances can hear you berating them for non-performance, right? Even as I heard myself telling the dryer that I was going to kick it, I was thinking “you know, if the dryer could talk, it would probably say ‘go ahead and kick me, dumbass. Your foot versus my steel body – who will win?’” He came to the door of the laundry room and just looked at me, one eyebrow raised. Again, I had to laugh, because I don’t want to admit I was going all Chuck Norris on the dryer.

I have friends who respond to my panicked emails about court procedures with “You’re overthinking. YOU’RE OVERTHINKING!!”

I have friends who share their moments of breathtaking stupidity with me, knowing that I don’t judge because dude, I’ve probably done it too.

I have friends and family who don’t handle me with kid gloves, who don’t censor their conversations with me to avoid certain subjects, and who share my love of sarcasm and snark.

I am lucky that I have an amazing mix of friends and family, who I love dearly and count on every day, whether they are aware of it or not.

So, on this Kiss Me I’m Irish day, I am thankful for my luck and love. Smooches to you all.