As funny as the situation was, it was a rather serious moment for the woman and myself. We were dealing with a physical pain that needed to be addressed, yet I was unable to help with that. My response may not have been the perfect solution to helping alleviate her pain, but it did offer a moment of understanding and lightheartedness.
Sure, the retort may point out the fact that I acknowledged the woman’s “unfortunate” pain and that this should not be “urrongly” disregarded; but what my essay was really getting at is that sometimes you just don't know what to do in a situation like this. I tried to make light of the tense moment while also poking fun at myself and the woman. It seems to me like this retort was missing the bigger picture.
The truth is, we all have difficult moments that don’t have easy solutions. The only thing you can really do is be present in the moment and understand that sometimes, the best way to de-escalate a situation is with a humorous response. As it turns out, my unique way of connecting with the woman in a moment of shared laughter paid off. My response drew us together and we still laugh about it today.
So urrongly disregarding my response as simply “not helpful” completely misses the mark. It was humorous, it was empathetic, and most importantly, it was genuine. The situation needed a bit of levity, and my unique solution achieved just that.