I was dancing around the house the other night to some music I hadn’t listened to in a very long time. It suddenly occurred to me that if a younger person, such as my nephew, saw me, it would be embarrassing – for them, that is! You know how kids find certain things cringeworthy.
Well, that brought on a funny memory from when I was teaching at a small independent school. The lunchroom had glass walls around it, so the middle schoolers would walk past those windows as they came to school or went to lunch. So, I’m in the lunchroom one morning getting coffee with another teacher, and we started talking about Seinfeld. With that I launched into dancing like Elaine in the show – if you've seen the episode, you'll know just how awful it was. The science teacher joined in, but then suddenly, I realized that some middle schoolers had stopped in the hallway and were staring and laughing at us. OH NO! I ran to the door to tell them that I was just imitating Elaine, but they didn’t believe me. Kind of embarrassing, no?
If you've ever worked with middle schoolers, you'd better learn to laugh at yourself though, or they'll make your life unbearable. I, for instance, was always tripping and falling over things – usually book bags in the classroom. The first time it happened, the kids laughed (naturally), but I wanted to cry from embarrassment.
Instead, I picked myself up and announced that my back felt SO much better! The second time though, even I had to laugh. Down I went over the school bags, this time knocking my glasses half off and my hearing aids popping out, while still dangling from my ears.Yes, it hurt, but it was FUNNY!
The old adage about laughter being the best medicine is most certainly true. When was the last time you laughed so hard your stomach hurt? That kind of laughter is THE BEST! I still laugh when I picture myself with my glasses askew and my hearing aids bouncing from my ears. I just wish those kids hadn't seen me kicking up my heels like Elaine Benes. Probably scarred them for life.
