Just what the doctor ordered
Getting over the spring blues
March 21, 2007
My tongue recoiled as the oversized popsicle stick left my mouth. Taking a second to wipe the sputum from my lower jaw, I prepared for the worst, when the doctor sticks that ice cold metalic object on your bare chest, moving it from place to place, asking you to suck in air like you’re running wind sprints.
Spring is in the air and so is every other infectious pore seeking a mucus membrane to attach itself to. I don’t know about you, but I hate being sick. If running two miles a day and drinking a half-gallon of OJ for breakfast doesn’t keep these pesky infectious bugs away, I don’t know what will.
But this time of year, the weather can be almost as bad, or even more unbearable than hacking up a loogie. A few years ago, my beloved Birkenstocks (newly acquired and proudly sported) virtually disintegrated underneath my feet as I trekked from North Douglas to RNT, blazing puddles inches deep. And if your midterms, term papers, allergies, roommates’ excessive snoring, screwed up hair cut, or ex-boyfriends mother does not get to you, you can be sure your low-balance meal card and overdue library books will. Basically, this time of year, life can just seem to suck, and what are we going to do about it? Most of us stand shaking our heads, and our damp umbrellas.
I have met a few people in recent months who, looking for a midday pick me up, have attempted daring feats of greatness. I think we’d all be better off if we walked to Chevron to get a slurpy or drove to Timmy Ho’s to fill up on doughnuts: Canada’s number-one, 24-hour, nonrefundable, renewable resource. And if you are flat broke, poor, and out of luck because your loans won’t be in till next week, chase some geese. They’re always around this time of year. You might as well make some use out of them.
So, if you are catching the end-of-winter Langley blues, do not fret my dear friend. Do just what the doctor ordered: laugh. If you have a hard time finding something to laugh at, start laughing at yourself. If you can learn that, you will never cease to be amused. At least, that is what they say. But you’ll never know until you try it. And if you can barely pull yourself out of bed to look at the mirror call Joe. He lives next door. Ask him for a joke, a puzzle, or a silly dance. Laughter is good medicine. Besides, what have we to loose this time of year?