–By Jan McInnis, Comedian and Keynote Speaker
Comedy is found in the strangest places . . . like cleaning out the closest. Not my closet, my parents’ closet. . . actually that would be “closets” with an S because there were many! Recently, after moving my dad into assisted living memory care, my three siblings and I immersed ourselves in a multi-week odyssey of cleaning out my parents’ house . . . the one we had moved into right before I entered sixth grade.
To start this journey, the four of us spent one last night in the house together, maybe secretly hoping that Mom would show up in a vision and give us some direction on what to do with everything. She did not. It was up to us to figure things out, and it was a massive job.
But what might be a time of fighting over who gets what for some families, we turned it into a time of joking about who really needs to take what. “I would love to enjoy this (insert item) AT YOUR HOUSE” was a popular phrase as we shoved something towards someone. Other notable quotes included “Oh my God, look in here!”, “How many of these things do they have?”, ”How are you going to sneak that past Robin?” (my brother’s wife), “I found another one!”, “This is YOURS! I remember, you made it. You have to take it!”, and “Is it time for wine?”
Don’t get me wrong. My parents had many valuables, but they weren’t the kind that most people would fight over. They didn’t collect antiques, there were no million dollar insurance policies stuffed into books (we checked about 100 books), and gold bullion wasn’t sitting in the safe. . . though we did find a few flakes of gold in a tiny bottle from our cross-country trip where we kids “panned for gold” like real prospectors.
No, the real “hot” items that we all wanted were things like Mom’s beat up, paint-chipped, green biscuit warmer that non-family members would be afraid to eat biscuits out of. We held a raffle in Mom’s Christmas dish, and Brenda won it; she’s now obligated to serve us biscuits in it on demand. And speaking of Christmas, there were tons of Christmas decorations! We each left with more carolers than a church choir, enough Santas to choke a herd of reindeer, and don’t get me started on snowmen!
In my keynote I talk about when you’re faced with a tough task, find a way to make it fun to you! We did just that. We also got schooled on the practical aspects of selling stuff, like “don’t throw anything out.” Sage advice from the estate sale person because, according to her, people will buy even a quarter-full bottle of Windex if they can get it for a nickel! Yes, there is a market for everything.
And we also learned some lessons that we can use in our lives by closing up my parents’ lives, namely:
- Use your stuff. Drink out of the crystal, wear that leather coat in the rain, and eat off the china. Instead of being bummed out that there wasn’t a Van Gogh behind the couch, I think we all agreed that we’re glad much of Mom and Dad’s stuff was used up. They got to enjoy it.
- Choose memories over money. Had we found gold bullion, we still would have been more tense over who got the biscuit warmer. A lot of great breakfasts came out of that warmer.
- Be fair. We all have great memories of the same items. So if someone really wants something, let them have it. You really can enjoy it at their house.
- Tell the story. We wish we knew the story behind some of the pictures and knickknacks that my parents kept, but we don’t. So if you’ve got five tea cups from Mackinac Island, tell your family how you got them or why you kept them. They’ll appreciate it, because you can’t count on coming back to explain things to them in a vision.
So I challenge you to find a way to turn whatever tough task you’re grappling with into a pleasant, memorable experience. I’m lucky because I can’t think of any other people that I would want to go through this “adventure” with than my siblings. We’ve always been great friends (once we got out of the teen years!), so this project was not as awful as it could’ve been.
My parents always said they wanted to make sure they left us four kids with something, and they did. . . a wonderful connection with each other. And thankfully this connection doesn’t take up any room in our closets!
About the Author:
Jan has shared her customized humor keynotes with thousands of associations and corporations, and she is the author of 2 books: “Convention Comedian” and “Finding the Funny Fast.” She was also featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post.
From a Recent Client: “Wonderful feedback from our membership, just the kind of balance we need in our professional development and keynote speakers. I’m so delighted that we took a leap of faith and stepped out of our usual box.” BABY BOOMER COMEDY SHOW: Jan co-stars with Kent Rader in this
hilarious clean comedy show. Check out their schedule and book them for your event at BabyBoomerComedyShow.com
