Al and I have always been big fans of The Big Bang Theory. We quote part of a one liner, our brain knows the rest and we laugh constantly. We also use parts of movie lines to make each other laugh. Our life has been a series of one-liners, with a straight man (or woman), who then gets it and figuratively falls on the floor laughing. People say we have our own language that others do not understand. I suppose we do. It has always been beautiful and has made our lives so much fun! Even during a serious conversation, one of us, at some point, will, with a straight face, say something that will break the tension and make each other laugh. With the mood lightened we get perspective and can discuss more clearly. This has worked for 55 years.
Sometimes I will leave my shoes somewhere and trip over them. I will yell at him accusing him of leaving his high heels around for me to trip over and that he needs to stop it, becasue I am going to kill myself on them. He humbly says he is sorry, and then we both laugh, I pick up my shoes and put them away. This is how our life has worked for almost 50 years we have been married. We have a wonderful time, even when things have been very difficult because we have learned to have perspective.
Now for the Sheldon Cooper part: In one episode of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon is obsessed about finding the answer to a physics problem. He plays the part of a Theoretical Physicist at Cal Poly, who is quite broken but absolutely brilliant. As he works the problem out with food, broken dishes and anything else he sees, retreating into his Physics World, he still has difficulty understanding what the answer might be. In the Episode, Sheldon ran out of the house, in the middle of the night, in his pajamas, robe and slippers. The next scene, his roommate Leonard, an Experimental Physicist at Cal Poly, gets a phone call and he says, I’ll be right there. The next thing we see is Leonard and a night watchman in a place like Chuck E Cheese. Leonard gives his apologies and thanks the night watchman for not calling the police. We see Leonard go through a door. There we see Sheldon, in the ball pit rolling around. Leonard says, how did you get in here? Sheldon simply says, cheap lock. At that point, Leonard starts yelling at Sheldon, get out of there, it is 3 a.m.! Sheldon replies, joyfully, that he is close to a break through and that the different colors of the balls represent different types of molecules and Leonard should get into the ball pit with him and start sorting colors. Leonard starts yelling “Get out of there!” To which Sheldon replies his famous. “BAZINGA!!” and ducks below the balls which settle like a calm sea after a storm. Leonard then jumps in to get him, yet can't find him because Sheldon continues to dive below the surface, bouncing up in different places. The scene stops there.
Why did I relate this to MS? During this severe flare, I have experienced moments of disappearing into my head, like a quick nap (which is actually what happens, no seizure.. My husband had me tested… Big Bang Theory fans will understand what that means). I miss some of the information, even though I am right there. I never understood that before, so during this flare, I can say, can you tell me again, I just went to sleep for a few seconds. People are less aggravated by that when they understand. I do not try to go away, it just happens when my brain gets tired.
During this flare in particular, everything around me is colorful a ball pit. Information that I need to hear and to which I need to pay attention, is like Sheldon popping up saying “Bazinga!” Sheldon then ducks back into the ball pit, and I can’t see him anymore, and the sea of colorful balls are calm and smooth again. Sheldon then pops up again in a different place, which surprises me, making the transaction even more difficult to track, wearing me out completely, so I disappear.
When I figured this out today, and explained it to Al, his life became a bit easier. This is all such a strain on him, so our laughter helps immensely. Thank you for reading my silly story!
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