Just for sh!#s and giggles

When you live with anxiety, or watch 5 minutes of cable television, the world can be a scary place. For that reason, I make it a point to laugh as much as possible. Even if the laughter occurs at awkward moments or causes me embarrassment.

I like to laugh.

And sometimes the opportunity for laugher sparks when you least expect it.

Last week I, like so many Americans, took back all of the clothing items that my husband and I received for Christmas that didn’t fit. (In order to protect my husbands privacy, and to ensure that he will continue to let me write about him, I will refer to my husband as Jamal from here on out in my blog.)

So, my mom had gotten Jamal a KU T-shirt that was too small. Jamal is a tall guy. I exchanged the shirt and found one in a size that would work. After a few minutes perusing the sales racks in the women’s section, I headed for the check out.

Before I got to the register a male mannequin dressed in corduroy red pants with dogs embroidered on them stopped me in my tracks. Yes, you read correctly, grown man corduroy pants with dogs embroidered on them. Here is a picture to prove that I am not lying.

This is a real clothing item in the men's section at Kohl's.

Above is the face of a man who loves his wife and is still confused about why he is letting her a take a picture of him in corduroy doggy pants.

I took a close up of the manikin to make sure everyone could see the dogs on the pants.

“Is this a real thing?” I said as I took a closer look at the pants. Pretty sure I said it out loud.

I immediately knew I had to get a pair for Jamal. I laughed as I searched for his size. I stopped laughing a little when I saw the price tag- $40. Holly cow thats a lot of money for a pair of pants, especially at Kohl’s.

I had a 20 percent off coupon so I made the executive decision that the laughter I would receive from seeing Jamal in these pants would be worth the $32 I would have to put on my Kohl’s card.

My plan was for Jamal to wear the pants to the Christmas celebration we had a my grandmothers the next day. I wanted to see how long it would take my extended family to comment on his pants. I bought them as a social experiment, fully intending to take them back after Jamal wore them to the party. (You can judge me if you want, but keep in mind I was doing this in the name of science.)

When Jamal got home and saw the pants he was totally in. We both exploded into laughter. It’s times like this that I realize, I have the perfect husband.

Jamal kept laughing until he saw how much the pants costs.

Apparently, he didn’t like the idea of me using Kohl’s as a clothing rental service.

I did get a few pics of the hubster in the pants before I took them back. (He doesn’t want me to use his real name, but he was totally fine with the photo? Crazy, I know.)

So, the point of this blog, is that laughter is good. Enjoy it when you can. Dancing is also good. So is prayer and poetry. When I search for the goodness in life, it is not hard to see the beauty, even a midst all of the challenges in life.

My resolution this New Year’s is to do more of the things that exhibit the joy in my life. I want to laugh more, dance more, pray more, and write more. I want to experience joy more.

Dr. Phil would dismiss this resolution because it does not include a measurable goal. But when have a ever agreed with that guy?

Find what brings you joy, and this year do more of it. Unless the thing that brings you joy is meth, but I’ll save my “just say no to illicit drugs” blog for another time.

Happy New Year!