Me: What do you think? I’m thinking of buying a fashionable face mask.
Him: Mum, they say only painters’ masks give appropriate protection.
Me: Well, it’s to protect other people from our germs too.
Him: We’re not sick. Plus they say it doesn’t work when you have facial hair, so that rules you completely out.
Me: Go away. I will no longer talk to you.
I need a laugh these days. I’ll even take something that will make me smile. I find myself scrolling through Facebook videos and stopping at comedians doing their thing. Trevor Noah. Ronny Chieng. Amy Poehler. They are as good as therapists.
Jokes are welcome now more than ever as our lockdown enters another week. My husband has a sharp wit and it’s been amusing (and somewhat annoying) to see my son developing his own sense of humour.
It’s not a novel idea. People have cultivated the ability to laugh before – even in the darkest situation.
Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, once wrote “I never would have made it if I could not have laughed. It lifted me momentarily out of this horrible situation, just enough to make it liveable.”
Anna Pawelczynska, a Polish sociologist and another Holocaust survivor highlighted that a sense of humour was one important weapon of inner resistance. It could not be taken away no matter how oppressive or dire the environment.
As jets flew over and bombs dropped from the sky, a Syrian man named Abdullah al-Mohammed taught his three year old daughter, Salwa, to laugh at the sound of explosions. To laugh through her fear to make her situation bearable.
Just a few hours away by plane, in a country at peace, most of us are scrambling over toilet paper and going crazy with boredom in our comfortable homes. When we do go for a short walk around the block, we’re looking at strangers as if they are all carriers of sickness and death.
Only two weeks into the lockdown I’m starting to tire of it. All of it. The lonely deaths, the heartache of families, the exhausted health workers, the fear and suspicion of strangers.
I’ve turned off the news at home. We are now living in a bubble with just the necessary information coming through. Yet I can still feel the dread when I step outside our flat.
Well, if people who have gone before us have shown us anything, it’s this. We can always choose to do something about it. I may be powerless to change my external circumstances but I can still try and react to this as best as I can.
Frankl again wrote:
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
So, here goes.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To practise social distancing.
Oh boy. That was bad.
My apologies.
Nomad Online 
28 responses to “Made me laugh”
This was a really nice read, brightened up my afternoon!
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Thank you Ruthie. I’m glad!
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Laughter is the best!!!!
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It is!
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You managed to both acknowledge the difficult time and subtly put it into perspective in relation to other crises both present and past. And the joke made me smile. Thank you.
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Thank you Mariam. I’m glad it made you smile.
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I liked your joke–but then my guys always groan at my jokes, too!
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Thank you! 😁
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Funny. Like that one.😆😂😝
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🙏😁
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I love your joke! It is really clever. A friend is sewing masks for us. Even if they don’t completely protect us, I want to let others know that I am aware, and care of my impact on others. It might also deter some clueless people from getting too close to me.
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Good point! I think I will try and find one. And thank you for liking the joke. You are kind!!
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Great post and a timely reminder of the importance of laughter in helping us through tough times 😊
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Thank you 😊
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It’s hard to know if wearing a mask is effective but I think wearing something on the face is a good idea because it could remind us not to touch our face. I have been paying little attention to the news as well. Listening to music or the sounds of nature keep me strong.
So if 1/2 of our flock crosses the road together I will assume the are rebels. LOL!
Earlier this week I saw got a lot of chuckles from this post on one of the blogs I follow
https://crossedeyesanddottedtees.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/laughter-the-universal-language-160/ I hope you do too. 🙂
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What rhymes with orange? No it doesn’t. Ha! Made me grin! Thank you for that link. And for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
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Well it made me smile 😀
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Thanks Su 😁
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In hard times we need our humor to get us through, thank you for the uplifting post. And the little chuckle at the end.
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Thank you for stopping by Madeleine. And for your kind encouragement!
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When we lose our sense of humor, the battle is lost.
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Indeed!
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Be well. Stay safe.
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Thanks Sandy. 🙃
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Ouch that is a shave too close to home!!!
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I knew it was too soon. 😁
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Humor is one of our most valuable means of getting through these uncertain times. Thanks for sharing!
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It certainly is! Thanks for stopping by Tom. 😁
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