Easy Laughter

Have you had one of those times lately when one simple silly thing led to gales of laughter, giggles that won't stop, belly laughs that make your face hurt? I was fortunate enough this past week to have a couple of those times. And I was able to recreate a few other times this has happened by reminding those involved of the absolute silliness we had shared. These are precious moments. They are a shared communion that can't be explained. Trying to relay the story later to someone else is not impossible; the intangible that makes it so funny gets lost in the translation of re-telling.

Three people, of many, who almost always can help me find the bizarre and silly side:

- The Kid: she and I have shared many of these silly face-hurting laughs. Even though she is a world away, a few simple sentences back and forth on Facebook this week brought tears of laughter to my eyes.  Teasing each other and veiled references to our silliness in the past had me laughing out loud, alone. I wonder if the neighbours could hear me and were thinking that they better do something about that woman upstairs. Sharing silliness about times past is the best healing laughter in the world.

- A colleague who has become a good friend: She laughs often and sees the slightly twisted and bizarre in most situations. A misread street sign a few days ago forced her to pull over - it was too dangerous to keep driving while laughing so hard. We just couldn't quit. We both misread the same sign at the same time. The realization of what the sign really did say was cause for hilarity as we poked fun at ourselves and each other. It got even funnier when the third person in the car didn't even crack a smile, not seeing the stupidity of the situation. Laughing at oneself is the best healing laughter in the world.

- Brother Three: He can make me laugh any time, any place. We have shared so many just-between-us silly times that often just a single word to each other is enough to laugh again and then years later, laugh again and then decades later, laugh again. This week, he and I shared a few hours together and laughed at a years-old memory.  The reading of his fortune cookie created a new instance of sharing silliness. We play off each other's laughter and can build a simple chuckle into a full case of 'getting the weirds'. Getting the weirds, where the silliness and the ridiculous builds until all around you are annoyed and can't understand, is the best healing laughter in the world.

My intent today was to share some of these stories and make you laugh. All was lost in the translation. I am so blessed to have family and a few very good friends who share my sense of humour and will laugh with me anytime, anywhere, at anything. Thanks to them and I hope you find someone to laugh with today.