Trapped by a passing train today, I used the time to think about the things that make life good. What bubbled to the top of the list over and over again was laughter. Winning the lottery would be great, but that dream doesn’t sustain me on a daily basis like a good belly laugh. (And, boy, am I built for that!) Humor from unexpected sources and events are my favorite. You know – when someone says or does something hilarious from out of the blue, or when some slapstick craziness happens. Those hit my funny bone like a bolt of lightning. Apparently, my children love nothing better than observing these things too...especially if they involve their mother’s humiliation.
Over a year ago, walking back toward the car after an errand, all three of my kids were looking directly out of the front window when my heel caught in a sidewalk crack. Down I went, the most ungraceful hippo ever to walk on land...in a dress. They still howl to the point of tears whenever one remembers that horrible day. They recount and reenact the Great Fall, adding manufactured details of me flopping around on my back. The other story they relive (almost daily) is the time I couldn’t recall the name of an entertainment center, and finally sputtered, “...umm...Choo-Choo Island!” (The name of the stupid place is Celebration Station.)
Humor truly is the best medicine for whatever ails you, and nothing turns bad into good, or at least tolerable, than a good dose. Who knows? Maybe angels get their wings every time someone on Earth laughs, sort of like in “It’s a Good Life.” Today I’m thankful for the things and people who make me laugh, like these LOL-worthy videos: Oprah & Tom Cruise spoof - http://youtube.com/watch?v=UbEX4AM7fA8 and Mom Song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM . And a new definition I’ve added to my lexicon: Electile Dysfunction: the inability to become aroused over any presidential candidate in the 2008 election year.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
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8 comments:
Laughter's good for the abs too! (okay okay, I used to be a personal trainer - I can't help it!)
Good one, Angie. Here's to those infectious smiles. May we all catch one today. Gee, though I did worry when I read about you falling down, they don't have a picture of that do they?;-)
Barb, no, thank God they didn't have cameras and only had the "crappy old cell phones" without photo capability or texting. hehe
"Laughter is an instant vacation!!~Milton Berle....and "ain't it da troot!!!!
Humor has always played a major roll in my family. Sometimes it is the only thing that helps us all get along.Your story reminds me of a time I fell, in a crowd, at that worse stage in life, my teens. My Dad had bought my older sister and me tickets to The Nutcracker in Philly. We got all dressed up in our (at the time the new latest fashion) long skirts, only there had been a major snowfall a couple of days earlier. In the midst of the crowd leaving the performance I slipped trying to climb up a tightly packed bank of snow against a curb. My sister, who finds all falls hysterical anyway, still breaks down as she tells how I kept trying to get up and falling again as the crowd merely parted around me––and her doubled over with laughter. Needless to say, at the time I did not see the humor, but as I write this, I'm laughing.
Okay mom I just have to say: BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!! I may not have physical pictures of that amazing day; however, I will ALWAYS have my mental video player just playing and playing!! pahahaha. Peace Out Boy Scout!
PS: I love you 0:)
Okay, daughter...shut your pie hole and turn off that recorder. It's stuck on (and has revised, I might add) the whole falling down event! Love, Mom ;)
I love your 'electile dysfunction'! And Choo Choo island reminds me of the character from the Top Cat cartoon. I'm imagining an island with lots of cats in polo neck sweaters running around...
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog a few days ago, Angie. Do call again! You girls have a great idea for a blog here - gratitude is a very powerful emotion, I believe, a lot more powerful than most of us realize.
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