“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfection.”
-Author unknown

A funny thing happened one day. It didn’t seem funny at the time… but I can laugh about it now.

It was the beginning of December and we were fortunate enough to not have any noteworthy accumulation of snow. I live in an apartment building. The back balconies are communal and are joined together by a fire escape. I have a gas bbq on my part of the balcony. It’s been left uncovered since the summer and I’ve been meaning to cover it in preparation for winter’s snow. I’ve had a new tarp and the bungee cords in waiting for a good while. I just needed the push to get‘er done. The early morning radio weather forecast of slight flurries was just the push I needed.

When I stepped out onto the balcony I saw that I had my work cut out for me. The old tarp was crumbled at the base of the bbq. It’s been there for some time. I started to move it. Much to my surprise, in its many folds I discovered cat doodoo in various stages of disintegration. My stomach dropped. I don’t have a cat. My neighbors do. My heart sank. Then my ire rose.

Into the apartment I stomped only to return shortly afterwards wearing work gloves (why I didn’t have those on in the first place, I have no clue) and a jumbo size trash bag. I tugged and rolled up the plastic tarp as gingerly as I could. The last thing I needed was to have the droppings spill onto the balcony. I managed to stuff all that balled up mess into the trash bag, muttering to myself and shaking my head all the while. Miserable cat!

After I secured the new tarp with the bungee cords, I pushed the bbq against the railing, tidied up the surroundings and inspected my deed. Job well done. But… oh, that cat. Once back inside, I plunked myself down in a chair and held my head. I’ve been going through some rough times lately. All I could think about was, “Why is everybody shitting on me?” What that darn cat did was the icing on the cake.

Images of that darn cat grinning and taunting me swirled in my head. Then I stopped to think: what is the past tense of the word “shit”? Shitted? Shat? And then I remembered the French word for “cat” is “le chat” (pronounced “shat”). How fitting. I was finally able to manage a slight smile.

A play on words can turn an aggravating situation into a chuckle. I am ever so grateful for a sense of humor and the fact that I can laugh at myself. It just goes to prove that moments of insanity, silliness and craziness are just symptoms of happiness in your life. Enjoy them! Sometimes they are the best part of your day.