Fun, Not Fun

We encourage our family members to view their unique challenges with humor and perspective.

We do this by making fun of each other every chance we get.  You know, for demonstration purposes.  So for example if Basement Artist is all peopled out and desperately needs some alone time, we respect that space but we kid her about it.  The same with Social Hurricane and the hallucinations or the manic episodes.

We don't know if psychologists advise this, but it works for us.  If there's a problem, you put it in its proper place.  We don't ignore issues, but we try not to give them more power than they deserve.  A conversation with our introverted Artist might go like this.

"You look peopled out!"
"I am!"
"You should get some alone time!"
"I will!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"  And she heads down the stairs and into her room, but we're both grinning.  And the rest of us will get on with our lives and she'll be out in an hour when she's feeling more herself.

The other night the family was watching "Agent Carter," which was fun.  Afterwards, Adored Wife (who'd been having a rough day) was getting ready to get moving when she had a "tic episode."  I may not have mentioned those--her hands and head jerk a few times.  It wouldn't normally be that much of a problem except for the chronic nerve pain, so those muscle tics really hurt.

She's rubbing her neck and looking pained, and I comment "that doesn't look fun."  Then one of the girls said something about how we know what fun looks like, and that wasn't it (a running joke.)  And I don't know how this got started, but somebody said that "Agent Carter" was fun.  And then we're all pointing at the television and then at Adored Wife, going "fun, not fun.  Fun, not fun."  And even AW is laughing through the pain.

Laughing through the pain.  That's how we roll.

Hope all's well out there, friends, and God bless.