Natalie revisited: A lesson in turning catastrophe into a chuckle

G’day. I suppose I’ve always admired people who can turn a catastrophe into a chuckle. Natalie had been my friend for years. I just loved her ability to rise from the ashes like a Phoenix.

No matter how serious her situation, she coped by a dramatic funny retelling of her plight. Natalie was the one who had that totally demoralizing situation – her husband had left her, she had two young girls who, of course, were always fighting, she had just moved into rented premises, struggling with a new job, trying to catch up with all the washing on Saturday and the washing machine breaks down.

This was the day she deserved to have her breakdown so she went into her room, closed the blinds, flung herself on the bed and invited the breakdown to happen now. Then the inevitable young voice calls her, Mum can we have some ice-cream?” “No” she yells “I’m having a breakdown just leave me alone!” “But mum I can’t open it”

“Too bad” she screams out, then the thought of ice-cream going all over the floor was too much so out she goes and rescues the situation – “just not fair” she screams, “I can’t even have a breakdown in peace” and it’s still on hold. But let me tell you a sequel to this story. That same lady, moved away after the separation and I lost contact until… just recently, when I got this contribution via my Humble Heroes podcast.

“Hi Dr John, I know you shared my breakdown story and thought you might like to hear this one even though there’s no humble hero to be found, just one creep!.

You know we moved away after the separation and I have been making my way as a single mum, as a reading parent and as a sales assistant in Forever New. So I’m doing OK, .

After 6 months trying to deal with my ex over everything, he finally agreed to take the girls for the weekend, helped by his mother of course. But this was the first break I had had in years.

My new single parent friends and I decided to get away and have our own holiday for once. So we tripped off to their beachside unit on the Gold Coast. After getting rid of cockroaches we settled in but we all wanted to unwind in different ways and the whole thing became so tense that after a few days I took the bus to Byron Bay to visit my brother, only to find his marriage busting up so I ended up caring for his kids, cooking, reading them stories and sleeping in a bed so cold I kept all my clothes on all night.

After two exhausting days I headed back for the unit by bus and landed a seat next to this bushy bearded guy who insists on talking, and tells me he's a diagnosed schizophrenic, and asks me if I'm married. I got no sleep that trip, I can tell you, then I get a cab back to the unit, pack up and off to the airport only to find that flight had been cancelled!

I’ve finally decided that the good life is for somebody else, I think I’d prefer to be stuck with the kids.

Natalie, you might feel anything but a humble hero but the way you take it on the chin, dust yourself off and get back into doing your best, makes you one of my special humble heroes.