I make an effort to incorporate as much humor as I can about the topic I’m writing about in my column A Ranchwife’s Slant.
I try to laugh at myself as much as possible and share it with my readers. I like to think that sharing my humor benefits people in agriculture who can relate as well as with other readers.
Since I started writing a humor column and am constantly on the lookout for something funny about our situations, I’ve noticed that my blue days are rare and usually short-lived. I’m not sick as much as I used to be either. Staying in good humor over challenging situations keeps me in better spirits, less stressed and less depressed. I am more cheerful and happy when I’ve had a steady dose of humor in some form and I want the same for my readers.
Many times humor has helped me relax, and when I’m tense I deliberately seek out something that I can read to make me laugh. I’ve come to rely on humor to help take my mind off what’s worrying or bothering me.
Thinking about what would make a difficult situation a funny story that I could tell others also helps shift my perspective. I rely on humor to relieve my stress and it’s helped in building better relationships with my family and friends.
One of the things I enjoy sharing with my family the most are our family inside jokes and our favorite family stories. Most of our best ones weren’t necessarily funny at the time but something we laugh about now. Most of my best times spent with my kids involve humor. Many of which have taken place in the car. A good family laugh always seems to have a ripple effect.
I draw my humor from time spent with my husband and our family, raising our kids, being around and observing livestock, having pets and people-watching. I’m drawn to watching funny movies and stand-up comedy, reading humor columnists, my favorite cartoon strips, and books that make me laugh out loud. Oftentimes, what I find funny I use as a platform to make a column topic comical for my readers. I also  like searching for words that sound funny or stringing words together in a way that stirs a laugh.
I write a lot about what happens on our ranch because:
1) I know that laughing about someone else’s troubles makes people feel good about their own situation.
2) Things that go wrong are funny.
3) It’s important to me to encourage people not take themselves too serious. I strive to describe our situations in a way that others especially people in ag, can see the humor in their work.
4) Humor is a good distraction from problems and sometimes helps make troubles seem less severe.
5) I like to write about topics that most everyone can relate to in some way, to make readers see the humor in situations similar to their own.
6) When people focus on what’s funny, they do their job better and enjoy their work more.
7) Sometimes the best ideas and discoveries stem from humor.
8) Laughing over our troubles is a better way to deal with challenges than getting mad.
9) The situation doesn’t seem near as bad if we think about what might seem funny about it.
10) There’s enough negative news coverage in the media world that I prefer to be a bright spot instead and aim to be the highlight of every reader’s day. Being a positive start to peoples’ day is my goal.
11) I consider it my job to share ranch and country life with readers to give people unfamiliar with our lifestyle, an accurate picture of what ranch life is like and do so humorously.
12) I want my column to be something people look forward to by using humor. When I write, I try to visualize every week that my column’s is the day’s discussion at coffee shops, offices, meetings, etc. with good laughs.
Laughter everyday keeps illness at bay.
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