Thankful for my Sense of Humor

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Although I don’t celebrate what the American system has always said that Thanksgiving is about. I celebrate my F’s, Family, Friends and Food. All the things I am most grateful for. This is a holiday where we can slow down and take the time to enjoy being together with good food. It is a day that I use my passion for preparing a nourishing meal that my family and friends will enjoy. I often think it benefits us all to really take the time to nourish our mind, body and soul before the hustle and bustle of Christmas time.

This year I have added a couple more Fs to celebrate, first of course, Frankie. She has developed into this sweet young lady that is by far, the second F, funniest little human. I never thought about these things Shayne and I would get to enjoy as Frankie brings them home from school. Things like paintings and pictures that are inspired by her school, teachers and friends. Crafty fall necklaces that she made for me during school because she thought of me during arts and crafts. This year, her Thanksgiving Day dinner placemat was by far the funniest!

One afternoon, I was picking Frankie up from school and her teacher, Ms. Jackie, came out to the car to tell me that she cannot wait to send home her “What I am Thankful for” project. Ms. Jackie told me that she laughed so hard when she saw it. I could not wait for her to bring it home! I only had one more week and she would send it home after their Thanksgiving feast at school. The suspense was killing me. You see, Frankie makes me laugh every day, but this is no surprise as I did make her. Still, I couldn’t imagine what was so funny that Ms. Jackie had to alert me. It was like the night before Christmas waiting to receive it.

Now, before I say what she was thankful for, I’d like to give some background information. Frankie is a lot like her daddy in the sense that once she is on a routine, it is hard to break that routine. She will eventually adjust, but it does take some time, patience and ample notice. I started potty training Frankie just before she turned two. Ever since the beginning, Frankie has never liked pooping on the toilet. Maybe it is because it takes time out from playing and sitting on the toilet. I tried every trick in the potty-training book. The only thing that seemed to work must have made quite the impression on her. I wonder if this will be something that will stick with her for life. Moreover, I certainly plan to keep this placemat for life!

Frankie did not start school at the beginning of the school year. We were still in the process of looking at different schools and she was on a waitlist, so we just held off. As soon as we found that the Montessori school had an opening for her class, we decided it was time. Frankie started school about two weeks before Thanksgiving. It being one of her very first school projects to bring home, the teachers got a quick glimpse of the kind of child they will be dealing with for the remainder of the year. From what I can tell, they are not disappointed.

As they created their little placemats for Thanksgiving Day feast, she was asked what she was most thankful for. Her response made it to the placemat, with the help of the teacher who wrote it for her. “I love my mommy because she gives me M&Ms when I poop.” Bravo! The fact that the teacher did not try and convince her to put something else she is thankful for, just confirms that we picked the right school for us, not just Frankie. No, it is not the response most parents would want for a dinner placemat to be used for a family gathering. As for our family, we embraced it completely. This represents Frankie best! She is unapologetically funny, inappropriately funny. She does not care what others think of her response. She knows that we will absolutely love it! All I can say about it is that humor is important. The fact that her sense of humor comes from a long line of family members, that although something may not be appropriate, we still find it to be hilarious. We laugh a lot and usually it is because it is not appropriate. I have the same sense of humor as my dad. Now Frankie has the same sense of humor as us. No shame, life is too short to be ashamed of the things that make you laugh. We don’t take life too seriously; it makes it more fun that way. Besides, if you can’t laugh at the things in life that may not be so pleasant, what is the point? So, I would just like to give thanks again, I am more than grateful for our sense of humor.