--- title: When You’re Upset, Humor Is Your Best Friend description: Kaitlyn Clare Mason observes that there is humor in every situation if we look hard enough. image: https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/2020%200721%20KMason%202.png --- [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/when-youre-upset-humor-is-your-best-friend#) [PARENTING](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/tag/parenting) # When You’re Upset, Humor Is Your Best Friend Jul 21, 2020 8:30:00 AM  |  by [Kaitlyn Clare Mason](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/kaitlyn-clare-mason) ![featured image](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/2020%200721%20KMason%202.png) *Kaitlyn Clare Mason observes that there is humor in every situation if we look hard enough.* We were baking like the clay around us in the heat of the day, as my husband worked on the basement of our house-in-progress. My daughter sat in the dirt, grabbing fistfuls of dust and making a little pile. Thirst overwhelmed my older children, and it was time to trek up the hill to our water. But our sweet little 2-year-old wouldn’t budge. I tried to pick her up, and she just let her body weight fall, so that she felt like a ton of bricks in my arms. I tried to remind her of the cool water at the top of the hill. She just kept making her little pile of dust. I tried to remind her of her toys under the canopy. She just kept making her little pile of dust. I started to get frustrated, and as I bent down to gain extra momentum so I could pick her up (P.S. I’m 8 months pregnant), I realized that I was picking up my daughter along with two tiny fistfuls of dirt. She looked at me with a wrinkled up nose, totally frustrated that I’d just ended her special building project of her own. And then, as I held her on my hip, with one swift gesture, she threw dirt down my shirt. A lot of dirt. At first I was startled. But then I burst out laughing at her stubbornness. What else could I do? And why wasn’t her stubbornness cute and funny to me seconds prior? **Far too often, we see the humor of things only in retrospect.** Life doesn’t come with a “do over” button. But if it did, I’d revisit a whole lot of moments when I was upset and I’d look for the humor. **I recently came across this quote: “Humor is your best friend, temper is your worst enemy.” **And in my life, I’ve found this to be 100% true. Laughing is just about the last thing I’m inclined to do when my mind is spinning and when I’m feeling anxious. **But there is humor in every situation if we look hard enough.** It’s like a treasure hunt – hunt for the humor in every situation. And if we can manage to find it, it’s a whole lot easier to defuse our temper and to live in peace at last. > [Life doesn’t come with a “do over” button. But if it did, I’d revisit a whole lot of moments when I was upset and I’d look for the humor. #catholicmom](https://ctt.ac/6n4Lr) --- Copyright 2020 Kaitlyn Clare Mason Image created by the author in Canva ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhen-youre-upset-humor-is-your-best-friend%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhen-youre-upset-humor-is-your-best-friend%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhen-youre-upset-humor-is-your-best-friend%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=When%20You%E2%80%99re%20Upset%2C%20Humor%20Is%20Your%20Best%20Friend) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhen-youre-upset-humor-is-your-best-friend%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhen-youre-upset-humor-is-your-best-friend%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Kaitlyn Clare Mason](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/Contriubutors/klaremason.png) ### [Kaitlyn Clare Mason](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/kaitlyn-clare-mason) Kaitlyn Clare Mason is founder of [Mary Garden Showers](http://marygardenshowers.org), a national ministry sharing Christ's mercy with women and families in crisis pregnancies. Author, songwriter, and homesteader, she is blessed to be a wife and the mother of four children. She writes to help you trust & serve the world through your home at [KaitlynClareMason.com](http://kaitlynclaremason.com). ## Related Blog Articles [ Name Your Fears: A Simple Step Toward Achieving Peace Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/name-your-fears-a-simple-step-toward-achieving-peace) [ Yes, My Hands Are Full - Full of Blessings! Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2016/04/15/yes-hands-full-full-blessings) [ The Kindness of a Stranger: Our First Trip Back Inside a Restaurant Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/the-kindness-of-a-stranger-our-first-trip-back-inside-a-restaurant) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! 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