All posts by Joan Y Edwards

Joan Y. Edwards is author/illustrator of folktale Flip Flap Floodle, a happy little duck who never gives up on his song even in the Mr. Fox's belly. She is author of 4RV Publishing's Joan's Elder Care Guide. It is full of practical hints and resources to promote healing and make caregiving easier. She has published 80 Gospel-Based Crossword Puzzles for Year A, B, and C. She has a Master of Education. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and Charlotte Writers Club. She enjoys watching humorous mysteries, like Columbo and Monk. Time at home, beach and mountain with family and friends energizes her..
Health, Spiritual, Writing

Laughter Is Good for the Body, Mind, and Spirit!

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two women smiling; one telling a funny story
Thank you, Unsplash and Surface for allowing me to use this photo.
“Laughter Is Good for the Body, Mind, and Spirit!” by Joan Y. Edwards
There are comedians who make money being funny.  Some of my happiest moments of relief are when I have been able to laugh at myself. Many times it is because I realized the part irony played in this trick I played on myself. Laughter is good for the body, mind, and spirit. I try to remember that when life plays its tricks on me.
For instance, the summer after my 30th year of teaching, 30 years of checking stacks and stacks of papers of every subject imaginable for elementary school: Reading, Math, Spelling, Language, Writing, Science, Social Studies, and Handwriting, In the early years, I taught art, music, and physical education, but the county hired special teachers for those subjects at this particular moment in time.
That summer I got a job with Kelly Services answering phones. I said to myself, “If I get a job answering phones during the summer, I won’t have to check papers.
in 1993, Kelly Services sent me to work near the airport with Piedmont Airlines who was merging with US Airways at that time. Each week they trained different Piedmont Airline Flight Attendants to use the new protocol in serving on the US Airways planes. At the end of the week, they gave each attendant a written test. My job was to order a cake for the end of training celebration and…dun to dun…to check their test papers.
What? But my plan was perfect. Sometimes you make plans and it turns out a little different. My Choice: Get upset or roll with the punches. I tried to look at the bright side. I loved answering phones. I liked interacting with the people. I liked ordering the cakes. And their test papers were grids: they had colored in circles and an answer key to place over the test paper to see if they got the answers right. No reading of long paragraphs. No checking of long division to see where a student made the error. Plus, it was only once a week.  Hip Hip Hooray!
What makes you laugh? Jokes, situations, surprises? The irony that plays tricks on you in life? Unexpected comparisons? What is your favorite cartoon?
Please leave a comment and share with me what makes you laugh.

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Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards, Author
Copyright © 2009-2024 Joan Y. Edwards

Flip Flap Floodle Firebird Book Award Winner Will this little duck’s song save him from Mr. Fox?

Joan’s Elder Care Guide Practical ways to help you and your elder survive.

Here are some of my favorite resources that make me laugh.

  1. .”What’s So Funny: The Science of Why We Laugh:” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/
  2. The Odds /Laughter Alley by Bill Harvey ( Behold Comics)
    https://www.beholdcomics.com
  3. Peanuts by Charlie Schulz
    https://screenrant.com/best-peanuts-charlie-brown-comic-strips/
  4. Blondie by Chic Young
  5. Dagwood with his sandwich from the comic strip, "Blondie" in Wikipedia.
    Dagwood with his sandwich from the comic strip, “Blondie” by Chic Young in Wikipedia. By Grand Comics Database

    https://comicskingdom.com/blondie

  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20888925
  7. Calvin and Hobbs by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Watterson