Laughter

Sorry about last night's post. If you got a chance to read it, great. If not, you didn't miss too much.

So what do you do when you're stressed out? Do you eat your husband out of house and home? Do you cry? (You can't see me, but I'm raising my hand.) Do you exercise? (not raising my hand) Do you take medicine? Do you talk about your feelings to your husband/wife/parent/sibling/child?
I was home alone one night with Madeley and I was having a MELTDOWN. I needed some tender loving care. I would have liked for it to have come from my mother, but since she's not here, I went to the next best thing... Madeley! She was fast asleep in her bed. I went in sobbing, and picked her up out of bed. I hugged her tightly as I sobbed. Her head was laying on my shoulder, and she was very still. I continued to cry, and suddenly I heard something... a tiny giggle. She was laughing at me! She was laughing at me in the middle of my weakest moment. She thought it was funny that I was losing it! Eventually, I started to laugh with her and suddenly I was better. No more tears, just giggles.

That story reminds me of my mother. When we were children and we were mad at her, she would laugh at us. Oh, nothing made me more mad. I would start out mad. She would laugh at me. I would get furious. She would continue to laugh, and then that same magic would happen. I would start to laugh with her. Suddenly everything would be better!

This is proof that laughter is an amazing aspect of life.

Definition of laugh:
To express certain emotions, especially mirth or delight, by a series of spontaneous, usually unarticulated sounds often accompanied by corresponding facial and bodily movements.

I love that definition! It makes me smile... spontaneous unarticulated sounds and bodily movements. Sounds fun!

I did some research on laughter and here are a few things I found:
•"Healthy, non-ridiculing and connecting laughter provides physiological, psychological and spiritual benefits you probably never realized or imagined. We are born with the gift of laughter -it's being serious that we learn." That is such a true statement. Madeley doesn't know how to be serious, but she sure knows how to laugh.

The following statements are from www.helpguide.org.
•Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
•Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
•Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
•Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

So let's laugh tomorrow. It's good for our health.

The following video is of my sweet little Madeley. Too cute!

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