Hello all,
In the midst of the chaos, sadness, frustration and grief, we need to find some humor.
I've always said that laughter/humor is good for the soul. It allows us, even if it's for a few minutes, to distract ourselves from pandemonium. Today was a perfect day for such humor and laughter.
I recently videotaped a presentation on reducing anxiety and negative thinking. (Check it out @thepinkribbonplace). One of the techniques (amongst many) that I presented was on being silly and how that brings about laughter.
Today, my husband, mom and myself went to get our COVID 19 testing. We have no symptoms whatsoever, but the testing has opened up to everyone in my County, so we decided to get tested. Let me say it was seamless and took about 30 minutes from beginning to end.
At our first check point, a young lady came to the car, my husband rolled down the windows and she immediately told him to roll them back up. Our laughter started here as my mom and I began to give my husband the same instructions.
We arrived at our next and final check point. The nurse started with my husband. She told him to open wide and say "awe" then proceeded to try to insert a tongue suppressor, then the swab. Apparently, my husband hadn't opened his mouth wide enough, so she repeated "please open your mouth wider." He did so, but it still needed to be opened more, so she asked him again "please open your mouth wider." At the same time, he began to gag, as we all did. My mom and I began to laugh because he was making the process more difficult for himself. There was about a 5-minute interval between each of us, so we had plenty of time to laugh some more. I mean, take a moment to imagine the scene...the three of us sitting in the car, windows rolled up and with face masks. Then it was my mom's turn and then mine. Mom and I did it without a hitch or repetitive instructions by the nurses. We did gag too, of course, and I giggled (remembering my husband's and mom's turn) as they put the swab down my throat.
As we left, we couldn't stop laughing at each other. It was one of the best days we've had since we started the stay-at-home orders. The outing made it all the better as it felt like we were going to a resort. We were giddy.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, even in the darkest moments, we must find light. And so we did today.
Don't forget, be silly, laugh and be safe.
Sincerely,
Teresa Alvarado, LMFT