Good Humor

I have never quite understood the phrase "at least you haven't lost your sense of humor." How would I lose my sense of humor in the first place? It's not something tangible like a set of keys. To me the phrase also implies that you are basically messed up both physically and mentally, but you can still laugh at yourself. People usually use the phrase after I've said something that makes them a little uncomfortable like "hey, I may be crippled, but at least I get the best parking spaces."

Somehow as my disease progressed, my sarcasm began to be perceived as humor. Now I'm told that I have such a good attitude, when I used to be told not to be so negative. Only people who knew me before my disabled detour recognize the acerbic, sharp wit that has always been a part of me. They know when I am really not feeling well because I can't get out the one-liners. My husband and I are particularly good at bantering back and forth and to the casual observer it sometimes seems that he is being overly mean to me. The truth is it would be wierd if he stopped doing it just because I have MS. So much of our lives has been turned upside down that at least we have this one thing that is still the way it was before.

The fact that I can find humor in my situation means that I am creative, twisted or a combination of both. I like to describe what comes out of my mouth as the result of "selective tourette syndrome." With all the scarring on my brain, who's to say that I always know what is and isn't appropriate. I do know that I won't be doing standup comedy anytime soon. (if I have to explain that, it doesn't seem as funny)