APR 2019
A
M y brother-in-law is an expert practical joker. Every year, he tries to come up with a fun April Fools’ prank to play on my sister. He even got away with the same trick for a few years in a row. He’d wake up early and tie a rubber band to the side sprayer on the sink — you know, those little mini-hoses that are used to wash vegetables and the like. Whenever my sister turned it on, she got doused. Eventually she wised up to the fact that it was coming. I guess my brother-in-law will have to come up with another creative, light-hearted prank for this year. Turns out, even the IRS gets in on the April Fools’ Day fun. Did you know April is National Stress Awareness Month? The fact that it’s the same month as tax day is surely somebody’s idea of a sick joke. Luckily April Fools’ Day is also in April, because laughter is one of the best ways to combat stress. In my line of work, we have to deal with serious, scary issues all the time. Car accidents can result in life-altering injuries. No one enjoys dealing with insurance or medical bills. We know that visiting our office or giving us a call is not something you planned on. Odds are, you’re not THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMOR ESPECIALLY DURING TIMES OF STRESS
I also think it’s important to foster an atmosphere of humor and brightness between our team members. Like I said earlier, we deal with rough, trying situations. If you don’t take time to break up the seriousness, it might be too much to bear. I’ve heard that people in traumatic and intense professions, like hospital workers and military personnel, tend to develop morbid senses of humor to help add some levity to their extremely serious work. I guess you could say we have our own version of the same concept. We certainly have more jokes about insurance than anyone needs or wants. In my personal life, there’s one jokester who stands above all the others: my youngest child, Zachary. Since his preschool days, he’s been the type of kid who is quiet for the most part but drops a perfectly timed zinger when you least expect it. I remember being called in by Zachary’s preschool teacher when I picked him up one day. The
teacher informed me that he’d used the word “damn,” and suggested I speak to him about it. When I did, he began to cry. I assured him it was no big deal and that he just shouldn’t use that word again.
“No matter how stressed, frazzled, or infuriated you feel, we’ll
thrilled to be making the call. You may even be having a pretty rotten day when we first meet you. We get it. No matter how stressed, frazzled, or infuriated you feel, we’ll approach you with care and compassion. Laughter often plays a huge role in building a real, meaningful relationship with our clients. If we can get you to crack a smile during a horrible time, we’re on the right track. Now don’t get me wrong, nobody expects the aftermath of a car accident to be a laugh riot, but sometimes when life is at its most hectic, all you can do is laugh and attempt to move forward.
approach you with care and compassion. Laughter often plays a huge role in building a real, meaningful relationship with our clients. If we can get you to crack a smile during a horrible time, we’re on the right track.”
“Well,” he replied, “you might want to tell Daddy that. I don’t think he knows it’s a bad word.”
Now who wouldn’t laugh at that?
-Melissa Emery
WWW.EMERYLAWOFFICE.COM | 1
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