155. Why Humor

A couple months ago, I dyed the bottom half of my hair pink for several reasons:

• I like pink and wanted to make my hair match my shoes. (At least something I wear should match, right?)
• I needed a haircut soon anyway.
• To copy my Teaching Fellow, whose hair was pink and purple at the time. (Hi, RVM!)
• I like the idea of being over fifty and having more of my style line up with that of children under six than with most women my own age.
• I believe that unexpected and bright colors sometimes bring people joy.

But most of all, I think humor matters more than glamor. If I can make people (including myself) laugh more often, I count that as a win.

I'm never going to spend a lot of money on my clothes or shoes. I'm never going to eliminate my gray hair or wrinkles or sags. I'm never going to keep up with (or even know about) the latest trends in looking my best. What I am going to do is try to have and promote fun. If people see my pink hair and think, "What a goofball," we both get a moment of light-hearted joy. If you've been paying attention for the past two years, you know that we all need moments of unadulterated levity.

As we go into resolution season, I encourage you to think about what steps you can take that will help those around you find moments of humor. Even more, perhaps, I hope you'll ask yourself what you can do to laugh more (without making others laugh less). Want to share some ideas or jokes in the comments?