Has humour helped me through a difficult time?

Photo by British Library on Unsplash

I can’t really say it has. I’m not a naturally funny person although sometimes I come out with something other people think is hilarious. My two youngest daughters and my son-in-law are all so witty. They’re the ones who make me laugh. Lexi has a dry wit and says things that take me a few seconds to absorb. Keeley’s sense of humour is questionable. Her schadenfreude is sometimes out of control.

But I know humour has got her through some very dark years to where she is now – a reasonably “normal” functioning adult. Our family is riddled with mental disorders but I’ve always tried to deny they came from me. The fact that all three children from my first husband have problems and that the younger three don’t get away scot-free make it obvious I’m the culprit – apart from Keeley’s schadenfreude which she definitely gets from her biological father.

I’m a crier. I cry a lot. I cried when my darling Momo died and for a lot longer than a year! I cry when I watch the news. I cry in a movie. I cry when I’m happy. And I cry when I’m devastated.

When my partner told me he had booked a removal truck to take all my things out of the house, at first I thought he was joking. I thought if we moved to a smaller place, it would be together. I cried and cried and cried. Actually, I cried for a whole year. I went to my doctor after a…