Laughter is the best medicine

Joe’s wife here. Something embarrassing happened to me at work yesterday. People who know me would say it’s the sort of thing that would only happen to me. And I’m going to tell you all about it.

First, a little about where I work: We are a small firm of about 25 people and we’re pretty tight. In fact, I adore most of the people I work with. They’re the kind of people that will surprise you with a trinket that they found while shopping just because it made them think of you. When your 800-year old pug dies they’re there with hugs and kind words, even if they’re really just making it worse. Our janitor, we’ll call him “Jay”, is even one of the family.

One particularly fabulous person is a lady I will call “Dolly”. Dolly is one of those extremely devout people who, at the same time, manages to not be a bible-thumper. She is a true believer and, unlike much of what you hear about on the news today, she really walks the walk. She is a sweet and kind lady who would do anything for you. She is completely non-judgmental and despite her faith, wears black leather mini skirts (not that I think there’s anything in the Bible that says you can’t wear black leather mini skirts). I really like Dolly.

So, yesterday, about mid-morning Dolly approaches me with a smirk on her face. “There is a pair of panties on the back of one of the toilet seats,” she whispers. “HeeHee,” I begin to chuckle. Then I realize: in all likelihood, they are my panties. Why, you ask, would I be taking my drawers off in my work bathroom? Well I’ll tell you. The previous day I was in a very long meeting that lasted right up until 5:00. In my rush to change clothes and get to my yoga class on time, the panties seemed to have escaped from my bag, along with a necklace and pair of earrings. I found out about the necklace and earrings a little later in the day when our office manager sent out an email letting the ladies know of her findings. Apparently, when good ole Jay was cleaning the office the previous evening, he was the lucky devil that found my unmentionables. He put the jewelry on my office manager’s desk. The panties he left on the floor and just cleaned around them.

As someone dealing with an anxiety disorder I tend to dwell on the past and live in fear of the future. When I think back on embarrassing situations in my life (and there have been many), it can feel like a punch in the gut. It doesn’t matter if it happened 15 years ago, I relive it over and over again. That’s why the fact that I didn’t crawl under my desk when I realized that they were my panties on the floor is a big deal. When the news made it around to the men in the office I didn’t get all blushy or try to deny it. Instead I laughed. I laughed long and I laughed hard. I told people that, yes, they were my panties and I laughed some more. In fact, I’m still laughing about it today. The picture in my head of Jay mopping the floor AROUND the panties just kills me. Although I was definitely a little embarrassed, who cares? It felt good to be able to laugh at myself rather than beat myself up about it for hours, days, months...You get the picture. For me that’s progress. And, anyway, it’s not like it was a pair of black lacy thongs. They were a pair of nice, cotton briefs. Good ole American underwear.

Now, the fact that I literally fell on my face two times in that yoga class I was in such a hurry to get to, well, that’s another story.

But sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. Sometimes it’s therapy.