... where family is the source of humor!

Ask And Ye Shall Receive . . . One Way Or Another by Carol Wells

My youngest daughter has three faults:
· She loves being the center of attention, which can create a few eye-rolling moments in her quest for this honor. Such as the occasion, we found her stuck, head first, in a large box with her feet flailing helplessly in the air. Why she tried to climb into the box is a mystery actually. If she had been a few years younger, we would chalk it off as natural curiosity, but at the age of 12 that excuse seemed unfitting to the event.
· She prefers to have things her way. Although this can lead to a few sibling rivalry moments or the ever popular guilt trip on a parent.
· She also possesses a natural curiosity about 'new things'.

Back in 1995, my daughters went to the Boys and Girls Club after school. The activities offered helped to burn off some excess energy before going home. It also let them socialize with other children near or around their ages.

One day an argument arose between some of the children when one girl suspected another of reading her private journal. My youngest daughter happened to be in the general area to overhear the one girl and her friends threatening to give the accused girl a swirlie*. The girl in question managed to talk herself out of such a fate; and hurried off to another area of the building - well away from the bathrooms.

My youngest daughter listened and watched this event unfold in rapt fascination. Being the brave soul she can be at times, she approached the three girls and the boy to ask if they would give her a swirlie.

It may have been that she thought the word delightfully rolled off one's tongue. Perhaps this had been something missing from her tally of life experiences in the prior 6 years. A possibility she saw this as a chance to get some attention and maybe - oh dream of dreams - even being the center of attention at Boys and Girls Club that day.

Whatever the reasoning may have been for the request, all that we do know is a few minutes she cheerfully emerged out of the bathroom. Her dishwater blonde tendrils dripping water from the newly acquired swirled hairdo. Nonplussed she went to show her older siblings her swirlie. No doubt exists within my mind that with each step she thought ahead to the future. Planning the day in her Golden Years when telling the grandchildren about a day when Grandma got a swirlie; just to see how in awe they would be to hear this.

Naturally, at first, her siblings expressed shock at her appearance. A touch of 'we must defend our little sister' feelings may have started to stir within them. They followed their shock with the natural question, "What happened?"

The next moment in time may have been priceless to witness as shock and protective feelings changed over to disbelief. "Who did it?"

Before thinking "Oh no! Those other children surely didn't!" I will assure you now of their innocence. When my daughter asked them for a swirlie, they said no as they thought she had been joking with them. After all, how many people ask another person to give a swirlie on purpose? With the one group of children not understanding her request being genuine meant my daughter had to seek out another willing person. But who?

The facts are plain:

• · She learned swirlies existed.
• · She wanted to experience a swirlie.
• · She politely asked to receive a swirlie.

Due to the rejection of her request, this meant she had to seek another way. Therefore, unable to think of anyone else to help realize this quest, she went into bathroom and gave herself the sought after swirlie.

* A swirlie is where a person has their head placed in the bowl of a toilet, more often than not - unwillingly so, while the water is flushed. Motion of the water, in the toilet bowl, results in a subsequent new `hairstyle` that is the source for name for this act.

Humorous Book Recommendations:             [ view all ]
The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club
[Laurie Notaro; 256 pages]
Laurie compiled a collection of columns, originally appearing in Arizona Republic, that shares about her adventures and clumsy moments - from teenage years to adulthood. For those that lived through similar less-than-graceful stages in our maturity progress or can imagine that it is their picture on the front cover ... can you relate?

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. Thre are seven million.
-- Walt Streightiff

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Humor Is Relative thanks Cay Dickson, from Houston Chronicle, for the compliment!

When one of my children ask, "Did you have to tell that story?" I tell the child, "Yep! It was my chance to be the center of attention ... thanks to you."
-- My Mom

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Having a child explain something exciting he has seen is the finest example of communication you will ever hear or see.
-- Bob Talbert

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It's easy to understand modern art: If it hangs up on the wall its a painting, if you can walk around it its a sculpture.
-- Anonymous