Monday, September 7, 2009

Laughter

My brother and Sister-in-law left today. It was so fun having them come and visit, over the Labor Day Weekend. I have to say ...it must be good for my health to have Shirley ( my sister-in-law ) around, because we always are laughing. I mean really laughing, where you can hardly catch your breath and tears fill your eyes. I know that I have read many things about the importance of laughter and how healing it is. So I think I probably healed a lot  this past weekend being around her, what a dear friend she has been for all these years and the sister that I never had. We started out as friends and then became roommates. Then I began to think "wouldn't it be great if she could be in my family?"  So I introduced her to my brother and the rest is history, and we have been together ever since. It was hard to say good-bye to them today. It is always a treat to have more family around.  I have never been very good at good-byes. But I need to be grateful for the time we did have and all the laughter that filled my home. Yes, laughter is good medicine.

In church I heard one of the speakers talk about something that happened to his daughter that they all still laugh about to this day, I thought I would share the his story with you. Good night dear friends and remember to spend time with people who make you laugh...really laugh!

Learn to Laugh

I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.

We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now, I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today.

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.

"Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life"

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."  ~e.e. cummings

No comments: