Mrs. Teabody Laughs Out Loud


“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”  Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol



Good Morning, Gentle Reader where at this early hour, all is quite dark. The Christmas tree lights sparkle and each window holds a glimmering light, and the house is redolent of pine boughs and cloves, and a wonderful sense of expectancy hangs in the air. Mrs. Teabody has said time and time again that Christmas is the very best season of all, and what is the best season of all without many smiles? Without much laughter?

Mister Teabody is what was often referred to in another time as a card: a person who attracts attention by his wit. Mister Teabody  has the ability to put a smile on Mrs. Teabody's face at least a dozen times a day in at least half a dozen different ways. An E-mail  will ping its arrival on Mrs. Teabody's computer and  upon opening it, she will  find a  laugh-out-loud-worthy cartoon or  video Mr. Teabody wished to share. When Mrs. Teabody is deliberately ignoring Mr. Teabody because of some very good reason, Mr. Teabody will engage the odious cat or the Duchess Ming in a dialogue that involves talk of Mrs. Teabody's disdain in such a way that  never fails to tickle Mrs. Teabody's sensibilities.  And she forgives him. Almost always. At dinner, in the car, at a party among friends, Mr. Teabody cracks a little joke or makes an unexpected and delightful observation, and Mrs. Teabody leaves her frowny face behind and enters into a happier state of mind. 

  Mrs. Teabody mentions this often under-valued personality trait to any and all who are setting out to give their hearts away any time soon. While it is true that most people would find it somewhat off-putting to sit across the breakfast table from a partner bearing two heads or to enjoy the opera with a partner who smells to the Antipodes, many shortcomings fade to near nothingness  when that candidate has a great sense of humor. A sense of humor is a PRICELESS quality to look for in a human being with whom you will share the biggest part of your life. 

 In A Christmas Carol when Ebenezer Scrooge looks back upon his PAST life, he recalls influential people, and none delights Mrs. Teabody's heart more than Mr. Fezziwig. Why, the very name Fezziwig  spoken aloud makes one smile. Fezziwig was ever optimistic and kind, and his enterprises were never as financially successful as they could have been because he was generous with others and knew that playing was at least as important as working -- a sharp contrast to Ebenezer Scrooge's austere business practices with Bob Cratchit, begrudging him  time with his family and the benefit of heat a small lump of coal could have provided. Do you wish to be remembered as a person as stingy as Scrooge or as generous as Fezziwig? Mrs. Teabody sees many, many Fezziwigs among you. Which also makes her smile.

 Mrs. Teabody urges you to lighten your heart every day doing whatever it takes to bring a  happy smile to your face. Look at genuinely funny cartoons and  watch lighthearted or uplifting films such as Finding Nemo or A Toy Story or Mrs. Doubtfire.  Shove the violent video games and films into your deepest closet and LOCK THE DOOR. Better still, destroy them. What good have they ever done for you? Really. This is the season of life and hope. You can only feel its full glory if you replace hatred with love. Do something that makes you smile. Find someone who makes you laugh out loud and take that person into your heart of hearts. You will never regret it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mrs. Teabody Reflects on Hallowe'en and Asks Forbearance for Rushing the Seasons

Image
Yesterday morning I woke to pouring rain and chose for my morning walk a turtleneck, jeans, and an insulated vest, along with scarf, hat and gloves. By one o'clock I was in short sleeves and Mr. Teabody was "catching some rays" inside the secret garden. Crazy October and as we slide into its finale of Hallowe'en, I can't help recalling a day inside my classroom with an administrator and the topic of devil worship. Like most female teachers, I paid homage to the seasons and holidays by way of door decorations and bulletin boards and as this was in the days just prior to political correctness, angels and the Christ child showed up for a few weeks before Christmas with the same regularity as colorful baskets of eggs and bunnies alongside a glowing cross for a few weeks before Easter. And what teacher (like myself) was going to let Hallowe'en go by with all its cool imagery and not take advantage of the chance to decorate? I had the gamut of images bought a
Read more

Mrs. Teabody Reflects on a Trip and Kindness

Image
I am wide awake looking at the moon and stars in the June sky through a window while I am lying in a comfortable bed inside a rental house in Penzance, Cornwall, England. I can count on one hand the times in my life I have been able to see a starry starry sky as sleep finds me. It's a doozy. I want to tell you about our first day here--Saturday-- before I lose the feeling.  Saturday morning started in tension: My three companions pictured above at Saint Michael's Mound had to make the 7:00 A.M. train from London  Paddington-- all four of us with all our luggage -- and we also had to meet up with two other friends inside huge Paddington Station because I had their tickets. All that went off without a hitch and the six of us managed to get on the train  in our assigned seats, our many pieces of luggage stowed on the main rack at the end of the car.  So far so good.  Great Western Rail have a scheme on weekends where you can upgrade to first class for twenty-
Read more

Mrs. Teabody Celebrates Her Father

Image
Back row: Richard Henry, Reed Henry, Pete Henry, Raymond Henry Front row: John Henry, Sally Henry, Wendell Henry Tomorrow is Father's Day. My father passed in May of 2006 so quite a few June Sundays dedicated to honoring fathers have passed without someone on the receiving end of a funny card, a poke of RedMan, a singing bass to hang on the wall and my life is poorer for it. I grew up in a home with three brothers and three sisters, a stay-at-home mom, a work away father, and I have always known what it means to be born a Henry but it is only in my very late years that I have come to fully appreciate the great gift of my heritage. Pictured above are some of the biggest influences on my early life. This photograph was taken in 1966 at a Henry gathering in Clear Ridge, less than a mile from where the folks in the photograph grew up--the five handsome and witty uncles, the beautiful and vivacious aunt and all of them so very happy in each other's company. With them came the
Read more