Finding teh Funny

One of my most favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 17:22 - A merry heart is good medicine but a broken spirit dries up the bones. A person who can't see at least a smidgen of funny in most of life's circumstances risks a broken spirit and dried up bones. Sometimes you have to wait for time to wear the sharp edges off before you can find the humor in a situation but if you can find it, you'll go a long way toward redeeming a difficult circumstance.

Carol O'Dell gives a wonderful account of finding the humor even in the midst of the stress of caring for her mother who had both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases in her book Mothering Mother. I had the pleasure of hearing Carol spoke at a conference I was involved in earlier this year and her story is, as she says, both heartbreaking and humorous. I highly recommend this book for it's insight, hope and inspiration for folks who care for older adults in general but especially for daughters facing the particular speed bumps in caring for their mothers.