Laughing It Up

I enjoy dark chocolate. My absolute favorite is Dove's Dark Chocolate Promises. They have these nifty little sayings on the inside of the wrapper and I even have one of them taped to my computer: "Keep believing in yourself and your special dreams."

But there's one that I've had three times today (yes, yes, I've had more than one piece of chocolate today. It's Monday, after all!). This particular saying is, "Laugh, laugh, and laugh some more."

Hmmm....

Do I need to laugh more at the frantic pace my life has developed in the past month?

Do I need to laugh more when I see a sink full of dishes, laundry piling up, floors that need to be vacuumed?

Do I need to laugh more when the alarm goes off entirely too early on a Monday morning?

Do I need to laugh more when my kids get into yet another wrestling match?

The resounding answer, if I want to keep my sanity, is "Yes."

And if I didn't need confirmation enough, the chocolate wrapper I just opened says, "Think of something that makes you laugh."

Ok, I will.

I laugh when I see my daughter running around the backyard with Jasper nipping at her heels, she giggling in absolute delight, his tail wagging and his little bark showing just how excited he is to have her as a friend.

I laugh when I see my husband's latest acquisition - a 1984 Nova car that gets something like 40 miles to the gallon. It looks horrible, but it runs - and it has saved him a ton of gas. And he bought it for the low price of $50.

I laugh when I see my two boys playing basketball, comparing notes about their day at school, when they talk about the girls they met, and how they both use a hair straightener now.

I laugh with utter delight when I think that I'll be in England in October.

I laugh with joy when I write a scene in my novel that I just love, that I know has everything it needs, that I know will move the reader.



And I laugh with complete adoration and love when I look at this picture of my husband and daughter:



Laugh...love...live!