Category Archives: cloudninegirl

Day Four: Skipping Ahead to Laughter and What it Means to Me

I had to get a drink of water.

It was Saturday night. I sat on the couch, sniffling with my Kleenex held to my nose, my brown furry blanket sprawled across my lap while my kiddos ran in circles in the living room, dancing to their dad, strumming his guitar.

I got up. He got up. I moved up the steps, and he turned to our two kids, smiling so big, his blue eyes sparkled. He strummed a made up song on the guitar, letting his voice carry away a hilarious tune starting something like, “Baby Bear, baby bear, likes to wear her stinky socks…”

…Laughter!

…Rolling laughter!

…Squeals of joy!

The three of them, my two-year-old princess, my four-year-old creative boy, and my fun loving computer husband sang and danced and made up lyrics on the spot! My heart was practically beaming inside with joy.

My husband let each character in our family star in their own verse: Daddy Bear, Simon Bear, Cyrus Bear (our dog) and then Mommy Bear, and we all became the brunt of a really funny song about something stinky; from socks, to underwear to anything we could think of!

…just like Smelly Cat from the sitcom Friends, when Phoebe captivated the coffee shop with her song and it went a little something like this…

“Smelly Cat…

Smelly Cat…

What are they feeding you…

Smelly Cat…

Smelly Cat…It’s not your fault…”

…And then she invites her friends to chime in with words helping create a community of fun in the coffee shop, much like the moment in my very own living room.

So the question about seriousness of life and humor begins and I think Audrey Hepburn sums it up best for me:

“I don’t take my life seriously, but I do take what I do – in my life – seriously -”
― Audrey Hepburn

I have been through a struggle in what it means to live and laugh, and then how to accept my serious side, because that’s part of me too. There’s this war inside of me between a carefree, wanting to skip through a field of daisies girl, and a side that says listen to me! Take me serious, please!

The point of today is how I’m learning to let go of seriousness and what laughter means to me. I think laughter is about letting go and living life and most of all, learning to laugh at myself again. Watching my husband and my two beautiful kids who have absolutely stolen my heart, they have no qualms with making fun of themselves in good times. That’s what I aim to go back to.

So laughter is what I strive for everyday. I want to make fun of myself in a good way, to laugh at the ridiculous things that sometimes fall out of my mouth without thinking. Like when the ice and snow storm hit, I said something about the power lines going down, a total blind and blonde moment. I forgot, power lines, are in the ground, Erika, not above it anymore, duh…

So don’t forget what it feels like to laugh at your own silliness. When you feel tense, when you feel like the world is sort of spiraling out of control, do something fast so your moment doesn’t drag you down. Have someone distract you. Remember something silly you did when you were little, something hilarious about yourself. Maybe call an old friend, your best friend. Let laughter change your mood. It works for me anyway—and of course post-its too. I am the post-it queen. LOL

**Feel free to check out the Smelly Cat Video! Love this!

Posted in baby bear, cloud nine girl, cloudninegirl, Erika Beebe, laughing at myself, laughter, smelly cat

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Setbacks can make really great comebacks

Jan 19

Posted by Erika Beebe

http://www.fromheretome.com

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. The flu has been a difficult pest to shake. But It’s also made me think about the importance of speed and goals.

Maybe setbacks are purposeful things. Maybe we’re supposed to have them to help us appreciate where we were when we were so close to the top of that mountain. I’m not sure.

What I do know is this week has seemed extra hard to get it together and get something done. I’ve felt all out of sorts, and in more ways than one. But I won’t think about the bad. I want to focus on what went right.

And here’s my short list I’d thought I’d share:

I managed to get up early three out of the four days this week. I pushed through some of the brain fog and I came up with a few great scenes for my next chapter, which has something to do with a lighthouse, a few scary characters and two best friends discovering deep secrets about each other they should have never been hiding.

And potty training the two-year-old? Well, I saw progress in her actions. She now verbalizes when she needs to get there and is definitely dry most of the day. There’s still a bargaining chip on the table, like getting her to do the unmentionable in the potty instead of where she seems comfortable going. But with a trip to Chuck e Cheese as a giant reward at the end of the week, repeating that reward with her and what she needs to do to get it, slowly, I’m seeing progress there, too.

I taught a really great PiYo class Thursday night, leaving the entire class shaking and trembling from exhaustion. If you want to visit a link to the exercises we did in class, here’s a great tidbit. Challenging workouts are fun for me because I’m in love with fitness, and I have been ever since I started working out at 13 to battle my weight. The gym is oddly a peaceful place and I hadn’t been back there since my Yoga class on Saturday—right before the flu settled deep into my bones.

And today? My energy is back. My brain is a little better and positive vibes are pulsing through my muscles once again. I have a goal for my weekend. I plan to get through one entire chapter, hopefully hitting the 60,000 word mark on my rewrites. Goal number two is of course, to hit the gym at least once.

And now for the bad stuff. Na. Doesn’t really matter. Not when I can still see my dream in front of my face. Not while I’m already heading straight for it and I plan to get there—at a snail’s pace? You never know. But never give up. Eventually I know my push will pay off.

Ever had a setback in your life teach you more because you fell backwards? I’d love to hear…

~Erika