The "Chuckle Out Loud" Category*

Ok, my last post was about tears.  And now I’m posting about laughter.  Bi-polar Blogging Disorder, anyone?

Anyway…

One of my 101 Goals in 1001 Days is to submit my writing to a contest.  It looks like I might be able to achieve this goal AND participate in a worthy cause.  Have you heard about The Nielsen Family and the way internet bloggers are coming together to help their family in this time of tragedy?  If not, you can learn more HERE.

A very funny blog I just discovered is holding a contest for publication in an upcoming blog book (working title, “Sometimes Life is Funny”), all proceeds going to the Nie Recovery Fund.  Here are the contest rules:

• You must have a blog where you are currently, actively posting
• It must be amusing on some level
• You can submit using your blog name or your real name
• It can’t be something you’ve previously published, other than on your blog
• It must be under 1500 words
• You MUST publicize the book and the contest on your own blog, and if you make it into the book, you must buy it
• You must link back to this post AND the NieNie recovery site (http://www.nierecovery.com/) in order to spread the word about both (By the way, we need a button/graphic to use for the contest – if anyone wants to volunteer to make one, I’d be grateful.)

The deadline for submissions is September 15th, 2008. You can send your submission to us at sometimeslifeisfunny at gmail dot com.

I know I’m fudging a little on the “must be amusing on some level” requirement, but I’m hoping they’ll let that slide.

Here, now, is my entry.  Be kind.

For two delightful years we rented a townhouse directly across the street from our
children’s elementary school.  We’d hear the first bell in the morning and know to send
the kids running out the door, the smell of Cheerios fresh on their breath and their
shoes newly tied.

Our youngest daughter’s first grade classroom faced our house, and through its large bank
of windows I could often see the children shuffling about their daily tasks.
Some days I would walk out to get the mail and sneak a little wave to my smiley-faced
daughter, who was always eager for the surprise greetings.

One afternoon I noticed the teacher creating a unique display in the windows; she was
laboriously taping up, one by one, sandwich bags filled with one slice of bread apiece.  As
the days went by, I observed each slice of bread becoming moldy, though at varying
degrees and paces.

I kept forgetting to ask my daughter about the display, until one lazy afternoon stroll
through our neighborhood.  As we walked hand-in-hand, I asked her “Hey, hun.  What’s
with all the bread hanging in your classroom window?”

She exclaimed, “Oh!  We’re doing a science project to see how bacteria grows!  Our teacher
had us come in from recess one day, and before washing our hands, we wiped them all over
a piece of bread.  Then the teacher stuck them in the bags and put them in the window so
we could watch the germs grow.”

I wondered at the teacher’s creativity, until my daughter cut me short.  “And guess what,
Mom!” she continued.  “You see that piece right there?  The one that has the biggest,
brightest bits of green?  That was MY PIECE OF BREAD!”

I discretely extracted my hand from hers, wiped it on my jeans and continued without
skipping a beat, “Oh, hunny, that’s great!”

*I asked my husband if this entry fell ANYWHERE on the spectrum of mildly amusing to laugh-out-loud, and this is where he placed my entry.  Good man.

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig:

1. Children’s Book Review: The Loud Book, by Deborah Underwood
2. "Fun with Food" Photo Contest

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