I’ve laughed quite a bit in the last few days. If laughter really is good for the soul, my soul is in fine shape right now. I never cease to be amazed that in spite of the serious nature of the work I do there are always things to laugh about. Sometimes it is like mortician’s humor, finding the quirky or funny in an otherwise serious situation. Other times it is just the humor that can always be found in day to day life.

I’m sitting in the principal’s office the other day when a mom appears at the door to retrieve a cell phone that had been confiscated from her daughter. She looks very familiar to me but I can’t place her name or exactly how I know her. She immediately calls me by name and asks, “do you remember my name?” I tell her that she looks very familiar but that I am struggling to remember her name. My boss says, “Brian, her name is tattooed across her chest if you need any help!” I instinctively look, and sure enough, there it is, her last name in nice bold letters. She is short and I am very tall, so I lean over slightly to read. When she leaves everyone in that office is howling with laughter. I’m not talking a little chuckle….I’m talking red face and tears, guffawing at my expense. What can I do but join in? The next day the story is all over the office, secretaries stopping at my door to make little remarks just to see me blush. Pranks are conspired involving women writing their names on their upper chest in ink just to see my reaction.

I have to admit it is kinda funny. I came home and told the story to Terri, partially because it was kinda funny and partially because I knew people would undoubtedly gleefully tell her the story at one of the football games.

Last night at the football game Aubree spent a lot of time hanging out with me and the other administrators in the end zone. When she’s not hanging out with the cheerleaders she is hanging out with us, listening to us tell jokes and stories. Every time a team scores a touchdown in that end zone and line up for the extra point kick, a group of boys gather behind us to try and retrieve the ball. I whisper to Aubree, “why don’t you see if you can beat those boys to the ball!” She takes off her shoes and runs back there awaiting the kick. The ball sails through the uprights and a mad scramble ensues chasing the ball. Aubree beats all the boys, triumphantly holding the ball over her head and bringing it to me. My boss thinks this is hilarious. He turns to the throng of boys and innocently asks, “which one of you guys got the ball?” They sheepishly point to Aubree, one of them saying, “she got a lucky bounce!” I hear one of them say, “DUDE…you got beat by a chick!”

I write a lot about the serious issues we see at school every day, but there is humor abounding everywhere. Kids are funny. Teachers are funny. People are funny. When I stare at a woman’s chest to read her name, I am funny. It is necessary to find the humor in what we do, the oddities and absurdities of human interaction. It makes the job more enjoyable and steels us for the more serious issues we must face.