When my daughter, Lydia, was little, we shared a bedroom at my mother's house. At least once a week, when I was tucking her in, she would say "Mommy, let's have a Laugh Fest."
Now, some of you may not be familiar with a Laugh Fest. As far as Lydia and I are concerned...we invented them. When she was little, and she wanted a Laugh Fest, she would scooch over in her bed, making room for me, and I would slide in next to her. She would cradle in my arm, and just start laughing.
We didn't need a reason to laugh. We just laughed. That's one of the joys of childhood...laughter for laughter's sake.
She would start to laugh...and childhood laughter is so infectious I would start to laugh, too. Before long we'd both be laughing so hard there would be tears streaming down my face. I'd be laughing in a tone that only dogs and bats hear. Eventually we'd be so out of control, my mother would call to us to "quiet down in there." Certainly, it's hard to understand how someone (especially two people) can laugh so hard at "nothing."
Nowadays, my baby is 20 years old - and she doesn't ask for Laugh Fests anymore. Instead, they happen spontaneously. She will say something that tickles me in such a way that I begin laughing. Soon she is laughing with me. Eventually the tears and supersonic laughter happens, and sometimes I'm laughing so hard I'm struggling for breath. She laughs right along with me. My husband looks at us and just shakes his head. I guess even when you're laughing at more than "nothing" it's still hard to understand how we can get to that point. Well...we've had a lot of practice.
I urge you to try it. Try to find a reason for a real, tear-inducing, belly laugh. Bring someone along with you into it. It'll do you both good.
And you may even perplex someone in the process!
Living, learning, laughing,
Michelle
