This afternoon my middle sister called. She had a few minutes and wanted to share something that had happened in her adventures in homeschooling. She got tickled as she told it. So much so that her giggling overcame her voice, and she had to give into it for a moment. Which started me laughing. And before we knew it, we were both laughing and stumbling over words and neither could really understand the other.
Good, no, GREAT stuff.
See, we haven’t had a lot to laugh about together lately. So much has gone on in the past four months, so much worrying, so much sorrow, so much business to tend to, so much to decide about. And in all that I have missed her laughter. Especially when it overtakes her story. My Aunt says I do the same thing sometimes, that it reminds her of Mama. Funny how I spent most of my life not wanting to turn into Mama, and now a random comment like that…..it becomes a treasure to hold onto. I should be so lucky as to turn out like my Mama.
I wonder if the overwhelming laughter could be genetic because my Aub does the same thing sometimes, as she shares her stories. She’s really good at that–sharing her stories. I don’t take that lightly. That’s another treasure. And we can “lafe and lafe” as Andy Griffith might say. It can take us quite a while to get through one story sometimes, just because of the laughter.
As I went on my walk tonight, I was thinking about my sweet neighbor who is moving soon. Oh, how I will miss her! We spend pretty afternoons standing in her yard or mine while our littles play, chatting about our days, our families, our children, our dreams, or what’s for supper. We have texted about this and that from time to time, but our relationship consists mostly of face to face, can I borrow an egg or a can of tomatoes, real-life conversations. And now we won’t have that. I made a promise to myself tonight, thinking of my sister and her precious laughter, that I won’t let my relationship with my neighbor and friend become a texting or e-mail or facebook relationship only. I love her laughter, and I love hearing her stories. I hope we will be able to make time for regular phone calls and for visits when they come to town.
I am very thankful for the benefits of modern technology as I’ve said before, but I do think it has done us a disservice on this front. So much of our communication with others is by text or e-mail. I am guilty of this too. Oh sure, we 🙂 and LOL, but there is nothing like a hearty guffaw in your ear when you are on the phone or right in front of you when you are sitting with a friend. I love the camaraderie of laughing with someone until tears are rolling down my face. And believe me, that’s the stuff that joy and healing are made of. Honest to goodness Laughing. Out. Loud. Together. That’s the best right there. LOL just don’t cut it.
I Might Need A Nap 