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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | FEBRUARY 2026 | 65 OMG, they can weigh up to 7,000 lbs. at's a big pet! Nora B. I don't need a hippopotamus, but I was hoping to nd some porcupines for Valentines. Gregg K. No room for the Hippopotamus, our dog has the house lled with her hedgehogs! Lori F. Imagine the attention we will get as we take our hippo for a walk in Sun Lakes! Hope I can nd a leash large enough LOL. Emily P. "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" was a hit song sung by eight-year-old Gayla Peevey in 1953, making her year of birth 1945 (same as mine). Seeing the "ad" led me to listen and enjoy an old favorite! James G. So sorry you have to sell your hippo. Are his eating habits getting out of hand? How about a Sun Lakes go fund me so we can keep him as our mascot? Ruth R. I found myself singing the entire ad to the tune of the song! Denny S. I don't need to buy a Hippopotamus, I feel like I AM one. Too much food around the holidays! Sallie F. your comments: GET THE JOKE! Last month's joke: Now back to the Get the Joke stuff: To win a Visa gift card, find the ad, article or just weird, out-of-place, completely made-up (and hopefully funny) item in this month's Lifestyles. When you find it, fill out the box and email it to sunlakesnews@yahoo.com before noon on the sixth of the month (or drop it off in the Main Clubhouse). If you are the first correct guess chosen at random, you will win! Please call Monica in the Admin. Oce for your special prize. From Courtney Taylor, Publisher: There was a book by Shonda Rhimes years ago called "The Year of Yes." It's pretty obvious by the title what the deal was. She spent a year saying "yes" to things. New experiences, weird food, going out at night when she would have normally curled up in a ball at 6 pm. If someone asked, she said "yes." It was transformative for her and became kind of a movement. Well, I don't know if it was a movement but I do remember trying it. For something to get to my dark corner of the world, other people must have tried it. So let's go ahead and say it was a movement. The point was to say "yes" when all the voices in your head were saying "no." I said "yes" to going out, trying new restaurants, going places I wouldn't have picked. Luckily, no one said, "Hey, let's get face tattoos and walk on hot coals this Saturday." The year was more about changing the resistance many of us have to something we didn't think of. Maybe it's a control issue. I know it is for me. I have to spend three days mentally and emotionally getting used to the idea of anything outside my comfort zone. My sister-in-law stayed with us for a week at Christmas, something she's never done. When my husband asked in early December, I said "Sure! Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way! Let me change the sheets in the guest room right now!" Then I went into my bathroom and sat down in the crash position with my head between my legs, clutching my inhaler, trying to not hyperventilate. I love my sister-in-law but had to reconstruct my vision of Christmas and add her in. But I couldn't say no to that, right? I couldn't even grumble or kick my shoe on the ground. "Yes," sometimes, is the only answer. "Yes" with a smile and a flurry of dusting furniture is the only way to say it. And guess what? She enjoyed her visit and we enjoyed having her. Sure, she was sitting in my spot on the couch (the whole entire time she was there) and watching murder TV all day (ack!), but it was nice having her. Here's the part where I'm going to hell and I'm only telling you … I did have to leave the house on day three and stand in the middle of an empty parking lot for an hour and breathe. A suspicious policeman pulled up and stared at me while I stared back at him. "There's someone in my house who's not doing what I envision so I needed to be alone," I was prepared to say when he handcuffed me. But he left after deciding I was harmless. The point is, say "yes" and have a full inhaler. I found the joke! Resident name (first & last):_________________________________ This was the joke: ________________________________________ Comments (we LOVE your notes - about anything!): _______________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Send entries to sunlakesnews@yahoo.com or ll out the form below and drop it in the box at the Main Clubhouse first correct guess chosen at random, you will win! Please call Monica in the Admin. Oce _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Denny Sattler

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