TWENTY-SIX

Happy Thursday Everyone!  I hope today finds you all well.  Today I am thankful for laughter.  Through all of the ups and downs of my life laughter has been the best therapy for me.  The kind of laughter that takes your breath away and makes you cry.  The kind of laughter that comes out of shock because you didn't expect someone to say something at a certain moment.  The kind of laughter that gets into your soul and heals you.

I remember when my brother, Dustin, had just returned from his first tour overseas.  We were all having a family dinner and in true form my mom tried to start a food fight by flinging peas at my dad.  As we were all chuckling my dad looked at Dustin and said, "What are you laughing at?" and smacked him in the face with a piece of his steak.  It was so unexpected that we were laughing so hard we couldn't speak.  Though the whole picture was funny the laughter was out of relief that Dustin was finally home with us and our family was whole again.

Another incident when laughter helped me was when Matt and I were in the midst of trying to get pregnant and I came home in tears because I had found out that someone I knew was pregnant.  As I was sobbing in Matt's arms and saying how it wasn't fair he very calmly and nonchalantly said, "Well at least we still have the fun of trying."  That was definitely not what I had expected from him in that moment and it made me chuckle. That brief moment of disbelief in what he said and that chuckle instantly lifted my mood.  I have always been able to count on Matt to bring me out of the darkness through laughter.  Laughing with him is one of my favorite things about our relationship.

Then there is Addie's laughter.  I am addicted to her laughs because they are so free and full of joy.  There is truly nothing better than her laughs, whether I'm in a bad mood or just hanging out with her.  A child's laughter is the best. Addie and I spend every morning, before the house wakes up, laughing.   It starts every day just right.

I hope you all can enjoy a good laugh today and remember that, though it may  not solve your problems, it can certainly give you the strength to push on

Sure, his feet were broken but watching Joe try to push him through the yard was hilarious

Playing Peek-a-boo with Nana

These two think they're hilarious together.

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XO