Day 327
Once again, it is late. Too late/early for my own good. A habit I plan to change in the new year.
A habit I plan to continue (and do more of) is laughing. And I don’t mean just in the song “Jingle Bells” where everyone is laughing all the way … I mean deep, belly laughs, and fits of laughter that make my sides hurt, me practically wet my pants and tears flow freely. I plan to continue that kind of laughter.
“He who fails to plan is planning to fail.” Winston Churchill.
Wise words from the man who most babies look like.
Anyway … if my plan is to continue and do more laughing then I best be planning a visit to Colorado where I seem to laugh the most and laugh the hardest with certain people.
I’m sure I’ve posted this story … but in regard to laughter it must be repeated. In the fall of 2006 my dear friend Suzzette proposed she go with me to Brown (where Ted was in school) for Parents’ Weekend. Being that Tim had passed away she didn’t want me to go alone … and so, we took a trip out East.
And, well, we were pretty much laughing all the way. Unless we were eating. Which we also did a lot of.
I sit here smiling and laughing outwardly so much that I just woke up the dog who was snoozing beside me. The evening we arrived in Providence we had been up for some ungodly amount of time … like 30 some hours. To put it mildly we were a bit silly. We called Ted from outside his apartment building and asked him to come down and help us with our bags. Unbeknownst to him we were going to jump out from behind the car (with gorilla masks on) and scare the living daylights out of him. At least that was our plan.
So, there we were rummaging around in the trunk for the masks when we saw Ted approaching us. Not having time to get the masks on – we decided we’d just jump out and scare him. Which we did. With a minor glitch … the young man wasn’t Ted! It was some random college boy who recoiled in horror screaming, “Eeeeee!” who then quickly ran down the sidewalk leaving Suzzette and I in absolute fits of hysteria on the ground. That poor unsuspecting kid was jumped by two overly tired middle aged mothers! I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to throw up.
That is real laughter. I want more of that!
A month earlier Sam and I were walking the Oregon coast. It was moving in day and we were taking a final stroll on the beach before heading back to campus to move her into her dorm room.
I am currently looking at a photograph that made me cry my eyes out yesterday (with laughter) and again I am laughing just looking at this picture. And what is it? A photo of a large tangle of bulbous seaweed. One might find this odd that it dissolves me into hearty yet teary laughter, but it does …
On that day Sam and I were walking the beach and one moment she was beside me and the next she was DOWN … in the sand … in the middle of a tangle of giant bulbous seaweed. This particular plant has long rope-like tentacles and hollow bulbs which fill with seawater. When stepped on, or fallen on, the bulbs explode spewing out their contents … which usually smells like a combination of dirty diapers, spoiled milk, vomit and sewage. So, there she was … having slipped on one of the seaweed ropes … in the middle of this tangle … dripping with the goo from those bulbs. She had been severely slimed and it was nasty!
In other words … she stunk! And BADLY!
So, I’m sure she made quite the impression on her new roomie … “Hi, I’m Sam – I always smell like this!” Anyway, they became good friends … and I am left with a hilarious memory. Sam doesn’t find it very humorous … but I think it’s a riot.
Those stories are priceless to me. I plan on making more this coming year. And I plan on … laughing all the way.