What Is Fun?

Okay, I need a little input here. If you were looking for a book for moms--maybe you're a mom, or a grandma looking for something for a daughter or grand-niece, or maybe you're The Hub of a mom--would you look for something "fun"?

And if you were looking for something "fun," what would make it fun?

I'm just curious, because I've been told that a project I'm working on isn't "fun." Now, I don't know that I ever set out to make it fun in the first place, but I'm open to becoming more fun. I like fun. Sometimes I'm fun, depending on how you define the word. Well, I don't know. Maybe not. And now that I'm riddled with self-doubt, I'm not sure if I'm funny, either--but humor is so personal. What I think is funny might bore you.

At a party last night we were talking about this very thing. Is "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" funny? One person said "I was watching it and finally turned to my husband and said, 'This is really stupid.' I couldn't even watch the whole thing." But as soon as we started quoting lines from it, like "It's only a flesh wound!" and reenacting the bridge scene "What is your name...", well, we were all cracking up.

I guess I'm not sure what's fun or funny, and I'm not sure my book is either one.

Evidently I worry about the fun factor. I hate to think that I'm boring. Man, the last thing I'd like to do is bore readers.

So let me see if I can come up with some funny stories, because I don't want to bore people here, either. Okay, I was reading a book for moms and the author included this story: A mom told her daughter that her tampons were "special tissues that only mommies use." The next day this same mom was having coffee with a neighbor when her child walked up with a tampon stuffed up her nose. When asked what she was doing, the little girl replied, "I'm just using some of those special tissues that mommies use."

Is that funny? Perhaps that makes her book fun? Maybe it's funny, or fun, but maybe it isn't. Maybe it's just gross.

While we were on vacation I got an email from a mom I'm getting to know. She asked, "Is your house cheerful? Is there a lot of laughter in it? I get the impression that there is." In other words, she was asking if we were fun!

I pondered it on and off all that vacation week. Our family had been grumpy with each other quite a bit the weeks prior and on the drive north, but the vacation was an excellent remedy so that by the time I got home and answered her note, I could honestly say that our house was cheerful. But I also admitted that it wasn't always. We have the potential to be fun, cheerful, and full of laughter, but sometimes we're quiet and serious. Sometimes we're cranky and irritable. We're often thoughtful or even silent (when we're reading, for example). We're definitely not in a constant state of silliness, goofiness, or fun, so maybe I should just give up on the idea of fun--at least in the book.

Perhaps I'll rename the project. To manage expectations and avoid any confusion, we'll just call it "The Grumpy Mom" or "The Somewhat Serious Mom." That way I don't have to worry about being fun or funny. I can just grumble and grouse about life and if I insert an unexpected story about tampons, it'll be a surprise. Do you suppose that publishers would pick that title up and run with it? "The Grumpy Mom." It has a certain ring to it, don't you think?