One Word At A Time: Laughter
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 7:00AM MAD21 By MAD21
"Why do you always do that?" A past coworker said to me on the way to lunch one day about 18 years ago. "Do what?" I asked. "Laugh when you talk." She said. It was a character trait I had never really noticed in myself before. But since this person brought it to my attention, it is something I have thought of often. Oddly enough after she said asked me this, I noticed the same trait in my dad. Guess I at least know where it came from, and it's not a bad thing.
Funny how comments like these stick in your head, isn't it? Honestly, I don't think I had a good answer. I probably just said something ordinary like, "I don't know." I'm not sure if the friend was asking me because she was annoyed by my habit, or jealous in some way, but for some reason she felt the need to ask such an odd question.
I remember growing up and getting the final report cards of the year and seeing comments like, "I'll miss her smile." Honestly now I look back on this and think they were just trying to come up with anything positive to say. Yes. I was one of those kids who teachers did not enjoy having in their classrooms (save Mrs. Green my second grade teacher... she loved me). Most teachers do not enjoy having ADHD children in their classes that have no fear of them. I'm still feeling very guilty for my my poor fourth grade teacher who had NO idea what to do with me. Ya. I saw a lot of the office and hallway that year. Anyway, I digress...
One of my favorite ministers asked me out of the blue one day, "Where does your faith come from? What is the source of your joy?" I had an answer for this one. Because my God is faithful. No matter what life has thrown at me (severe depression; death of loved ones; loneliness; job loss; betrayal), God has always been there, even if he was silent at times. In the end, he always showed himself. How could that not bring you joy?
The laughter can be deceiving at times, however. For me, anyway, laughing and joking is a defense mechanism. It's how I cope. In most situations there is always an upside, and I'm one of those annoying people who try to find it. About 19 years ago I broke my ankle/leg skiing.. Bad. Worst injury I've ever had and pray I never experience again. My way of coping was to make jokes in between screams. I told the guys in the first aid center to just keep telling me jokes until the ambulance came to take me to the hospital. (Note: If you tell the men in the first aid center at a ski resort to tell you jokes, don't expect them all to be clean. Wow.) But it helped SO much.
Bottom line: Laughter is a gift.
Ask me what one of my favorite sounds is and I will tell you that the top of the list includes the laughter of my children. It speaks volumes. You want to see true joy, spend some time with my girls. They both have THE best laugh you have ever heard. I pray they never lose that joy. I know that their lives won't always be filled with happiness, but I pray that God will gift them with true joy. With the kind of laughter that will see them through even the toughest times.
This post is a participant in a blog carnival over at Bridget Chumbley's One Word at a Time.
Be sure to go and check out what everyone else wrote on: Laughter.
Laughter, One Word At A Time in One Word At A Time
Reader Comments (3)
Laughter is one of the best gifts to give OR receive. Love your thoughts, Ginny. Thanks!
Laughter IS a gift. I hide behind it myself at times... but when I laugh out of pure joy, it's such a blessing!
Thanks for this, Ginny.
Ginny, I understand such laughter. I love to know of it in you.
And I love you. :D