National Stress, Humor, And Poetry Day

When first hearing this awareness, I thought

does that mean to be aware of stress once

a year for a month? So this is fraught

with uncertainty for many as a subject

and so recognizable as a condition

that most have experienced the effect.

Stress! There is stress in losing someone

close to us. Some are concerned as they are not

hearing from someone. They had so many laughs, and soon

that person will be gone. There is stress, and they ought

not have the humor they think they do, but they would be wrong.

By Bekky Bekks on Unsplash

It Is National Humor Month

One of my favorite months of the year

There is April Fools Day, and I was caught

We get over the stress of the winter

And bring joy, with no more tears

Spring is here, and laughter abounds

no more frowns, except on a few clowns

Orange faces, keep up the paces, rounds

are made of all the places and sounds

of geese and calls from the snowbirds

preparing to come back to their homes

now that winter is gone. What are our plans

for summer, Peggy Sue wants to know

I thought we could laugh and cry together

while working with the kids this summer.

Humor is so important to healing, and we all

can use some of that. Especially the brat

that I live with. His friend is going home soon.

Hospice, we assume. Where is the humor in that?

We can grieve for short times each day and at

longer times once in a while. Then, move on

and laugh about memories and make new

memories, as some say your friend is in a good place now.

By Emmanuel Phaeton on Unsplash

April is National Poetry Month

The Beauty and birds coming back to roost,

the flowers beginning to bloom, the beauty of

the sunny days, the longer light in the evening

is so much fun, and the earlier sunrise is hard

to miss now. We are not going anywhere just yet

The taxes are okay, just not what I expected. I bet

you may have it better than me. Hubby says

it would be nice to break even. I told our taxman

that and he agrees; we may just do that!

"The Triple Holiday"

It was a Wednesday like no other. Greg woke up to find his calendar buzzing with three reminders: National Stress Awareness Day, National Humor Month, and National Poetry Month.

“Great,” he muttered. “I’m stressed, unfunny, and haven’t rhymed since high school.”

At work, his boss yelled, the printer jammed, and Greg spilled coffee on his shirt. Classic Stress Awareness material. But instead of snapping, he pulled out a sticky note and scribbled:

Roses are red,

Deadlines are looming,

My inbox is full,

And my patience is fuming.

He chuckled. His coworker peeked over, read it, and burst out laughing. Encouraged, Greg wrote more—turning every stressor into a bad rhyme. Soon, his cubicle wall became a shrine of poetic nonsense:

Meetings drag on,

Like soup that’s too thick,

I nod and I smile,

But inside, I’m sick.

By 3 p.m., half the office was laughing. Greg realized something powerful: humor and poetry might not solve stress, but they sure make it easier to carry.

That night, Greg toasted to surviving the “Triple Holiday,” notebook in hand.

“Tomorrow,” he whispered, “is National Napping Day. Now that’s a holiday I can handle.”