Author: sssmahh303

Lost

by sssmahh303, posted in Wellness

Mary Ann

Did you watch the TV show, Lost?  I did, and at first, I thought it was going to be an exciting show about people surviving a plane crash on an isolated unknown island somewhere in the world.  I like fictional survival shows because they challenges the human spirit asking us what we would do under similar conditions.  In 2010 when it began, I was ready. 

Lost then got lost for 6 seasons, and stupid me watched every one of the episodes waiting to find out why, and I mean, why did they survive and to what end.  In the final episode while awaiting the answer to the program existence, you still didn’t know.  You were left with more questions.  I wasted 121 hours on 121 episodes and still don’t really know the meaning of it all.  I patiently waited episode after episode for answers that never came.  I then decided I would never do this again.  

Now, I give TV shows 1 or 2 episode, 3 at a max before I let it go.  Movies get about a half an hour then I am out of there.  This hold true for books as well.  If I start a book and I am not enjoying it, it is on the way to Good Will.  I used to be a must-finish-the-book, must-finish-the-TV-series, and must-finish-a-movie person.  Now, as a recovering must-finish person, I have freed myself.  I guess I used to be a little OCD.  Now, I am using my time in better ways.  Frankly, at our age, time is priceless.  

So, I am writing this blog to free you too.  You don’t have to finish a book or a TV  show or a movie.  No one is keeping score.  You will not get a notice from somebody admonishing you for your behavior.  Imagine, if that happened.  We would get reading tickets like parking tickets, or overdue notices for not finishing a Netflix series.  By the way, I am trying to figure out how to drop my continue-watching-list on Netflix.  I am sure there is a way, so I need to You Tube it for help.  

However, I do have a confession.  I started to watch Severance on Apple+ TV, and I don’t really know what is going on.  Critics praise the show, friends loved it, and I am totally lost – again!  The second season has premiered, and I don’t think I will be watching it again.  So, all of you who are enjoying it – great.  It is not for me. I love great storytelling.  I just don’t want to get lost again.  Life is too short!! 

Buzz Feed

by sssmahh303, posted in Taking Care of Business

Mary Ann

Sometimes when I watch those TV commercials about garden hoses or miraculous skin creams, I begin to believe that there is a fountain of youth, and the garden hose will shrink to fit in the palm of my hand.  Sometimes I buy the product.  I have become my parents and believe everything I see on TV.  That is a little scary!  Somethings are duds, and somethings are small miracles for three easy payments of $29.95. 

 I like to see new, innovative products so how do you know that it is more than just snake oil? You can follow influencers.  Read reviews. It seems anymore that everyone has an opinion on everything.  I also follow Buzz Feed lists which you will find on your phone news.

Buzz Feeds posts are lists of everything.  The articles can be 40 Great Dog Breeds for Seniors or 29 Things That’ll Compensate for Your Tendency to Overpack and on and on.  There is more information that you ever needed to know about a subject. However, it can be mindless fun to scroll away your valuable time and find products that you didn’t know you needed.  

Though, I must say that I love the Buzz Feeds that gives you gift ideas for certain people for certain holidays or a list of the newest kitchen gadgets.  I find myself scrolling through them and taking screen shots.  The screen shots give me a little time to decide if I really need to have the newest garlic press.  I just delete if I really don’t want or need something.  I am being glib about the garlic press, because I have found the most remarkable products from Buzz Feed’s suggestions.  Who knew that I needed them?  It has saved me a lot of time searching for a particular item.  It also has given me great ideas for gifts.  

In preparing this blog, I explored the BuzzFeed.com website.  They have several categories that include Quizzes, Shopping, Arcades, Celebrity, and Trending News (that had good reviews on accuracy.)  The shopping sections has all those articles on the best of whatever you might want to buy.   This makes finding the right gift so much easier.  Then, of course, you go to Amazon to buy it – most of what is featured can be purchased on the big A. 

I find myself going down the rabbit hole on all the lists, but it is a safe and fun way to explore a bit of the Internet.  There probably is a Buzz Feed list of 40 things to explore on the Internet.  I think I need to go find it.  

Number 5

by sssmahh303, posted in Reviews

Atomic Habits

Mary Ann

If you recall, last year I wrote a blog about the six books that have most influenced my life. This is a feature in the magazine, The Week, where they ask famous writers what 6 books influenced them.   However, I only had 4.   Well, lo and behold, I just found Number 5! 

Atomic Habits by James Clear is my Number 5.  Insert fireworks!! It has appeared on several non-fiction best books and people began mentioning Clear’s work on podcasts or in news article. It was published in 2018 and has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for 260 weeks – 5 years!  How did I miss this?  Better late than never!

 Since Covid, I have done a non-fiction book club with my friend, Lisa, so we added Atomic Habits to our list of books.  We have a healthy pile of to-read books, but we decided to move it to the front of the line. This was our first book of 2025, and we were both totally in love with it.  

Not only does this book tell you how to break a bad habit but also how to start a new habit.  Some of his suggestions you have heard before.  However, it is how James Clear presents his ideas.  The book is very well-organized.  There are four laws that are fundamental to his program – Make it Obvious, Make it Attractive, Make it Easy, and Make it Satisfying. For each of these laws, he gives relatable examples and provides you with small techniques and tools to build, stop, or change a habit.  At the end of each chapter, there is a concise bulleted summary of the chapter’s focus, and at the end of each section, there is a chart that builds throughout the book with clear steps to stop a bad habit or begin a good one.  Everything Clear presents is rooted in scientific studies.  From tiny steps, great things happen. 

Personally, I gained a better understanding of why I do what I do.  For most of my life, I have been preparing to do something. For example, I say I want to write a book.  I read.  I attend classes.  I learn. I attend workshops.  I join writing groups.  It is prep, prep, prep!  James Clear calls this being in motion, and that has been what I have been doing for many, many years.  I just needed to write – just do it!   That is why writing the Silver Sage Sisters blogs has been such a blessing to me.  I have deadlines.  I must write.  Why did it take me 70 years to figure this out?  What was I waiting for?  Especially at the time of life.  

Atomic Habits is one of those books that you want to keep close by to refer to.  It is funny that both Lisa and I both decided to do this as we completed the book.  However, I found a podcast on Atomic Habits – Cheat Sheet that has nice discussions on the materials presented in the book.  The pod cast run about 10 to 25 minutes.  There are two seasons.  This is an easy way to review the laws and is a short pep talk to keep you going with better habits.  I also checked out James Clear’s website – atomichabits.com.  It is full of all kinds of ideas and products.  You can sign up for his free weekly newsletter, 3-2-1 Thursday.  It is short and sweet giving you 3 ideas from James Clear, 2 quotes from others, and 1 question for you.  Check it out.  It is excellent!

I have given Atomic Habits to several people, and I think it will be my go-to gift for future graduations and the like.  What a gift for young people!  It echoes for me The 7 Habits of Effective People by Steven Covey.  Both are timeless and can change your life.  

Wonderful Yous

by sssmahh303, posted in Lifestyle

Mary Ann

It is that time of year when you need to start thinking about Mother’s Day gifts. For many of us, it becomes harder and harder to think something original to give.  Our older mothers seem to have all they want or need, yet we want to remember them on their special holiday.  This idea can be used for birthday, holidays, or I am just thinking of you gift for someone who needs encouragement or get-well wishes.  It is very personal and unique to the recipient. 

The idea came to me one Christmas when I didn’t have much money to spent on gifts, and I had to get creative with something unique to give that year.  So, I got little baskets for the women decorating them in ribbons and silk flowers and little brass containers for the men keeping them plain for a masculine feel.  I called them Wonderful Yous.  Each basket or container is filled with statements about the person being honored and special quotes or Bible verses that he or she might like. Comments from other relatives can be added as well. Grandchildren’s comments can be especially meaningful with the Mother’s Day Wonderful Yous.

Here is what you do to make the Wonderful Yous.  On small pieces of paper, you write something about the person; for example, you have beautiful blue eyes, or you always have a kind word for everyone.  Then you roll them up and tie with a ribbon.   Then put all the scrolls in the basket or container. The following is a little poem, I would attach to the basket that gave instructions about what to do with it. 

                                                      Whenever you are blue, 

                                                      This little basket is full of Wonderful Yous.

                                                      Just pick one out, read, and remember 

                                                      How very special you are!

This is not a hard gift to make.  You can type on your computer using a pretty font or write the comments on white or colored sheets of paper.  It just takes some time and thinking about the person you are making the gift for.  

One of the sweetest things that my friend, Mary, did for me was making a Wonderful Yous basket in the very basket I gave her some years back.  It was so precious to me.  It always brought a smile to my heart while opening the little scrolls.  It made any day happy.  Now it is your turn to make someone happy with their very own Wonderful Yous! 

Jello Salads

by sssmahh303, posted in Uncategorized

Mary Ann

Do you remember when you were little and going to a family holiday dinner, and there was an array of Jello salads jiggling on the table?  It was very 1950s and 60s.   Every woman there had their one special salad that they brought to such occasions.  Once tasted at dinner, all the other women wanted the recipes.  These shared delights would continue for future dinners, and everyone ended up with a rainbow collection of Jello recipes. 

My mother was no exception, and her magnus opus was a pink chiffon dish that we loved as a family, and it could be counted on for holiday events.   Here is the recipe.

  Pink Salad

1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple

Small Cherry Jello 

Small Pack of Cream Cheese

Small Jar of Maraschino Cherries

Small Can of Evaporated Milk (Chilled in Refrigerator for several hours)

  • In a saucepan, bring the pineapple to a boil.  Add Jello.  Let it stand.  Add cream cheese and blend.  Add cut up maraschino cherries and blend. Allow the mixture to cool.
  • In a separate bowl, add chilled evaporated milk and whip using an electric hand mixter.  It will foam up, and you will want it to peak.  However, on a very humid day, it may be difficult to make the milk foam.  
  • Combine both mixtures and refrigerate. 
  • Variation: Can substitute Lemon Jello for the Cherry and fruit cocktail instead of pineapple. 

Once made, you would bite into the soft pink mixture and hope that you also got a maraschino cherry with it.  So yummy!  My mother would kick up the recipe for Christmas and make a green salad using lime Jello instead of cherry.  The red cherries looked festive with the green foam giving you a feeling that you were eating Christmas.  

Somehow, our family continued making Jello salads when they fell out of favor.  My brother always makes a Jello salad with his meals – just a touch of sweet!  He loves Ambrosia with little marshmallows, pineapple chucks, coconut, maraschino cherries, mandarin oranges, whipped cream, and a touch of sour cream – what would be do without maraschino cherries?   He often will make a frozen strawberry salad that was a specialty of our Aunt Elaine’s.  I guess when we serve Jello salads, it is like visiting with these special people again.  You could close your eyes and time travel to a different moment and place in your life.

My go-to salad is a Watergate Salad that can be made in 10 minutes – easy, pretty, and tasty.  It could be a dessert! Here is the recipe if you need a quick treat. 

                                                                        Watergate Salad

1 22 oz can of crushed pineapple

1 small package of Pistachio Jello Pudding 

¼ cup of miniature marshmallows

¼ cup of chopped Pistachio nuts 

1 Container of Regular Cool Whip

  • Mix the pineapple and the pistachio pudding together.  Add the Pistachio nuts and marshmallows (you can add more). Blend mixture with the Cool Whip. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.  This can be made ahead of time.  At Christmas, you can add, of course, maraschino cherries for a festive look! 

Maybe it is time to explore the family cookbooks or recipe boxes to find your relatives’ favorite Jello recipes.  I am sure there are a few.  Let’s hope that it will not be a lime Jello ring with shredded carrots.  I think that is more of a past nightmare than a sweet remembrance.   Who ever thought that combo was a good idea?   Let’s get busy and make some rainbows!

Bento Boxes

by sssmahh303, posted in Lifestyle

Mary Ann

I recently read an article that a good way to eat lunch was to graze by making a plate of a few vegetables, fruits, some protein, a few carbs, and a treat.  I would often do this not realizing I was grazing, so I started to think of ways of making this easy, interesting, and healthy. 

Other countries graze in their own unique ways such as smorgasbords or tapas.  In the United States, we supersize foods which end up supersizing us.  So, I set out thinking about how I could incorporate grazing into my life in an orderly fashion. It came to me that Bento Boxes might be a good direction to go.

I ordered a set of five Bento Boxes from Amazon that were dishwasher safe and made of all the safe plastic materials.  You can get boxes that have various size sections. I thought I could make the boxes up on the weekend and have lunch prepared for the next 5 days.  Of course, I would have to shop for food first and have everything ready to go on Sunday.  These are some of the ideas that I found that worked and a few lessons learned about grub that didn’t.  I am still developing menus as I go along.  

The Bento Boxes I used each have five individual sections.   I tried to use one for fruit, one for vegetables, one for proteins, one for nuts and seeds, and one for carbs. These are some of the ideas for the lunches.

Fruits– grapes, cherries, melons (fresh), apples (pre-sliced packs), clementines, kiwis, berries, and bananas (cut to fit the section; the end will turn brown, and you will need to cut it off before you eat).  You could buy a precut fruit tray that offers pineapples and melons to make the prep even easier.  Small containers can be included that might have peanut butter or cream cheese to enhance the fruits.  Another possibility is using dried fruits. 

Vegetables – carrots, celery, raw cauliflower, raw broccoli, peppers, and raw asparagus and beans, and snap peas.  Again, precut vegetable trays would cut prep time. You may have noticed that I didn’t include cucumber.  I found that they are fine early in the week but get soggy as the week progresses.  You can find small containers to put a dip in such as Ranch Dressing. 

Nuts and Seeds – cashews, almonds, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.  I mixed them altogether and used a quarter cup measuring cup to put into one of the sections.  I used the nuts each day.  

Proteins – One of our area groceries stores makes chicken, egg, and tuna salads in small containers that make a perfect and tasty portion for a section.  You, of course, could make your own.  This, however, makes it easy.  You could roll a piece of ham and a piece of cheese around a sweet pickle for sandwich without bread.   This is a perfect place to use a hard-boiled egg.  These can be purchased already cooked and peeled – easy!  Other  possibilities – there are little brie cheese bites from Supreme and Babybel cheese rounds that are both tasty with crackers.  

Carbs –Any seedy, whole grainy crackers (Crunchmaster or Raincoast Crisps by Lesley Stowe) or even a few chips for a treat.  The crackers are great to have with your protein.  

Once the boxes are assembled, put them in the refrigerator ready to be eaten each day of the week.  You are done fixing lunches for the week in a relatively short period of time.  If you are working, your lunch box is ready to go.  Bento Boxes easily go in the dishwasher once you are done eating.  I did find that it was almost too much food.  However, that is a good thing because you have your afternoon snack already to go.  You can graze away your day! 

I am sure you will have some great ideas of your own.  As I said, I am still learning, but as you apply the things you do learn, the easier it gets. There is always room for exploring new ideas and adding tasty items to your menus.  Bon Appetit!    

Always Wear Perfume

by sssmahh303, posted in Wellness

Mary Ann

Do you remember when the Avon lady would come to your home?  Talk about customer service – beauty products at your doorsteps.  As a youngster, I loved the visits because I got to try all the new perfumes, and if I were lucky, I was given a sample or two. The tiny lipsticks were so cute.  

Then as I got older, along came Avon’s Daisies Won’t Tell.  It was a women’s cologne that had a perfume version for girls or something like that.  At last, I had my very first perfume.  I was hooked on good smelling things, and there is an actual term for that – CognaScenti is a person who has a passion for perfume. 

Daisies Won’t Tell lasted into teens and by that time I started to wear Rapture from Avon that came in a beautiful green bottle.  I thought I was so sophisticated.  By the time I got to college I was wearing Ciara and Charlie from Revlon.  These were the perfumes I took into my young adult life and wore until I was introduced to luxury perfumes.  For a time, I wore La Panthère de Cartier and Casmir from Chopard- pricey but oh, so lovely. Sometimes it was hard to find them.  This was prior to online ordering.   

Then into my middle years, I used Calvin Klein’s Obsession and most recently, I began wearing CK’s Euphoria.  All the perfumes that I have used over years are florals with exotic hints of patchouli or sandalwood or vanilla.  I guess that is why I am attracted to those fragrances.  They all have these common elements 

 I would say that Euphoria is my signature scent.  It is a fragrance that I love to smell, and I always get compliments from both men and women when I wear it. Little children always tell me that I smelled good – budding CognaScentis. The Calvin Klein Company says Euphoria has stood the test of time, and it is for all ages.  This long-lasting perfume made from high quality materials remains a world-wide favorite.  I guess I will be wearing it to my final days.

Coco Chanel has a famous quote about perfume, “A woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future.”  She emphasized that perfume is an essential part of a women’s personal expression.  It is a way that women can leave a powerful lasting impression, so you should always wear perfume even if you are home in your sweats.  You never know who will knock on your door, and a lovely perfume can make you unforgettable!  Hoping this blog reminded you of your own perfume journey. We are all CognaScentis at heart!

Perfume Gallery

First Row (L to R) Daisies Won’t Tell, Rapture; Second Row (L to R)) Ciara, Obsession; Charlie; Third Row (L to R) Euphoria, La Panthere de Cartier, Casmir

Fairy Godmothers 

by sssmahh303, posted in Taking Care of Business

Mary Ann

When you think of Fairy Godmothers, you think of pumpkins turning into carriages, white mice turning into horses, and rags turning into ball gowns with the swipe of magic wand.  Those Fairy Godmothers do not exist except in fairy tales.  However, there are real-life Fairy Godmothers just waiting to be found in our lives.

My Fairy Godmother is Mimi.  She is 11 years older than I am.  She is my wise women who I turn to when I have a problem or need some advice about life.  She has helped with health issues like menopause questions or issues I may be having with my children.  She always has some gentle words to guide me, always encouraging and inspiring.  We are friends who share books to read, recipes to cook or bake, or souvenirs from travels.  Mimi is a lady who I look up to and just knowing she is there for me brings peace to my soul.  Her presence is an anchor in my life even though we live a half a country apart. I just hope she know that I treasure her.

I think each of us need to become Fairy Godmothers to younger women in our lives.  They need to have women who they can turn to when life gets challenging.  It is so easy to become isolated today that one thinks that you are the only one having a particular problem.  In years pass, women would talk over their backyard fences to a neighbor to get that sisterly advice about life.  With families living all over the country and even the world, you may not have a mother or an aunt living nearby, so younger women need to find Fairy Godmothers currently in their lives. A problem shared is a problem halved as the old saying goes.  Those relationships with intergenerational women can last a lifetime and enrich both of the parties.  Each of the younger women should in turn become the Fairy Godmothers of the future. The experiences are almost as good as a pumpkin becoming a carriage. There is magic in those special relationships! Put some abracadabra in your life!  

The Chicken Lamp

by sssmahh303, posted in Friends and Family

Mary Ann

My mother had a chicken lamp that was her pride and joy. She saved a $1.00 a week for 35 weeks to buy her coveted lamp.  Remember those days when you put items on layaway? That was a healthy price for the 50s. However, the lamp did not feel very mid-century.  It had a brown shade with a yellow ruffle, and it was a chicken.  It didn’t matter, she loved her lamp!

One day my mother was off to the store which was down the street from our house, and my little brother, Timmy, and I, were left home alone and were to take care of one another. This was a time when younger children were given much more freedom.  We were about 6 and 8 years old at the time.  At any rate, we were expected to behave and keep out of trouble.

Well, as soon as mother left to do her shopping, we, of course, began fighting and chasing one another around the house.  I believe that Timmy was chasing me, and he plowed into the chicken lamp knocking it over and breaking the head off.  (He may tell this differently.) OMG, the world was ending.  We were doomed.  Mother was going to kill us for a multitude of reasons; namely, her chicken lamp was broken, her precious chicken lamp.

So being the older, wiser child, I decided that we would not confess our sins.  So, we put the head back on the chicken and became the most well-behaved children occupying ourselves with Timmy playing with his farm set and me reading.   If mother discovered the damaged chicken lamp, we would deny everything.  This was the first time that brother and sister conspired to save their necks.  We were taking this to our graves.  

It is amazing that neither of us said anything.  I would have been in trouble for not supervising Timmy better, and he would have been in trouble for breaking the beloved lamp. So, time passed, and the head held.  Mother cleaned the lamp, and the head did not fall off. The head remained steady even during a move to our new house.  It is not fun waiting for a shoe to drop.  At any moment, our sins could be revealed.  

Time passed; years passed.  The chicken lamp remained on a revered spot in the living room on a round, maple table. The chicken head held firm to the point that we began to forget about it until one Sunday afternoon.  My father’s brother and family were visiting.  Their son, our cousin Gregory, walked over to the lamp, and he touched his finger to the tip of the chicken’s beak.   Plop, the head fell to the tabletop.  Timmy and I looked at one another across the room, and our eyes locked.  Gregory was going to be the one in trouble. He would take the fall, and neither one of us spoke up.  That moment sealed the bond between us.  This was going to the grave with us.  Gregory was just a little guy, so he wasn’t going to get in trouble for “breaking “the lamp.  He just touched it.  Everyone was sorry, and my mother ended up glueing the chicken head back on the chicken body.  All was well.  How did we ever get away with this? 

Now, for the backstory.  First, Greg if you are reading this, we are sorry we let you take the blame.  Timmy as a child was a naughty little boy, and we have many Timmy stories in our family that I will share in the future.  Timmy became a teacher and an outstanding school guidance counselor when he grew up. Never give up on a child. Redemption is always there.  

Apparently, not for me.  The Berenstain Bears have a story on honesty (The Berenstain Bears and The Truth) that is centered around the children breaking a lamp. The book was written 30 years after our crime. There must be a lot of children breaking lamps.  Those little bears confessed, but they didn’t have a Cousin Gregory to lay the blame.  We didn’t confess to our mother until we were in our 50s, and she was in her 70s. We figured it was safe to fess up! She wasn’t mad and had no idea that had happened.  We felt lighter and didn’t have to take the sin to our graves! 

Comedy Collection 

by sssmahh303, posted in Wellness

Mary Ann

The world seems grim right now!  Everywhere you look there doesn’t seem to be much joy. So, what do we do about that?  I think we need to bring more humor and laughter back into our lives.  You know the saying – Laughter is the Best Medicine?  Maybe the world needs a big dose of it now, but where do we begin? 

We could take a class in laughter.  There you try different kinds laughing such the queen wave while you walk around laughing or the Hawaiian laugh as you do the hula while you laugh.   There are endless possibilities of different kinds of laughter.  I took such a class, and you can’t help but laugh when everyone around is doing the hula and laughing.  The purpose is nonsense, and that nonsense makes you laugh.  However, laughter helps lower stress, alter moods, and helps the heart.  

There is laughing yoga which uses breathing exercises and laughing with no poses and laughter therapy which involves watching funny movies (there is a reason for Dumb and Dumber) or shows or reading humorous books.  When I need a smile or a chuckle, I think of certain TV shows that gave me a good belly laugh. They were so funny that I have never forgotten them.  

The first of my Comedy Collection was an episode of the Ellen DeGeneres’s comedy sitcom, Ellen – a comedy show way before The Ellen DeGeneres Show.  Ellen was enthralled by Martha Stewart.  She loved everything Martha Stewart, so she decide to create a Thanksgiving dinner, a perfect meal that Martha would admire. Of course, nothing went as planned.  Her oven broke so she tired cooking the turkey in the dryer.  You could see the poor bird flipping around through the glass door. The whole episode continued with disaster after disaster. Well, at the end, the guests came and among them was Martha Stewart herself – a happy ending with Ellen meeting her entertainment hero. 

The second in the Comedy Collection was from Sex and the City. Main character, Carrie, loved and I mean loved fashion.  Remember all the zany outfits?  Carrie is asked to model some clothes for New York City’s Fashion Week.  Her wildest dreams had come true.  So down the catwalk she struts trying hard to do the model walk, and at the end of the ramp, she falls for all of NYC fashionistas to see.  I literally fell off the couch laughing.  I still giggle when I think of the show.

An episode of Friends was the third in my Comedy Collection.  Ross and Rachel accidently locked their baby in their apartment and the window was slightly opened in the nursery. The two of them are in the hall imagining all the terrible things that could happen to the baby.  Now remember that the infant baby is in a crib and the window is only open a few inches.  However, they are sure the baby is going to fall out of the window and with each new imaginary scenario, they would freak out even more.  By the end they were sure a hawk would fly in the window and steal away the baby.  Remember this is New York City.  They finally get in, and the baby had napped away the hour they were panicking.  As parents, we have all been in similar situations imagining horrors happening to our sleeping babies or teenagers.

If I need to lift my spirits, I just think of those shows, and I find myself laughing.  I will end with a story of the funniest experience of my life.  It always makes me laugh.  When I lived in SC, I lived 10 minutes from a movie theater.  I could decide at the last moment to go to see a film.  On one Sunday afternoon, I decided to go see a movie.  I was going to just make the show, but I had to get popcorn and a drink.  I hurried in getting my ticket then my snacks.  The film was in the last theater in the complex.  I walked up to the entrance.  There was a door to left and one to the right.  I decided to go in the one on the right.  I entered and it was completely dark.  Had I walked into another world or maybe Narnia?  I started to reach out in the darkness and found the wall.  I tapped down the wall until I felt a broom handle.  OMG, I was in the broom closet.  I started laughing and continued tapping in search of the door.  Once I found the door handle and was ready to turn it, the door opened.  There stood a man with his popcorn and soda preparing to enter the theater.  He was surprised to see me as I was surprised to see him, and then I said, “It is the broom closet.”  At that point, we were both hysterically laughing with popcorn flying everywhere. We gained our composure after some repeated tries and eventually entered the other door.  He joined his date, and I found a seat still trying to stop laughing.  I often thought that this would have been a great way to meet your future husband, a great romcom beginning!

As I have written this blog, I have been laughing at my go-to Comedy Collection.  I hope this will inspire you to start your own collection.  I know you have some shows, movies, or books that make you grin. You are already on your way!  Our laughter can help the world find some joy and maybe not be so dark.