The Sound of Laughter!!

What makes you laugh? I have found that just the littlest thing can sometimes make me laugh. Things that make me laugh and you laugh can vary greatly. I think of my sons and daughter-in-law and their laughter and it makes me smile. They all three have very different laughs and I can just hear them laugh and it makes me laugh. The twinkle in their eyes, all the muscles in their faces working. Just hearing the depth of their joy is contagious.

I have a young grandson that laughs and it is beautiful. I don't think there is a adult that doesn't laugh when they hear the laughter of a child. It is so pure, so innocent and infectious that you cannot help but laugh. When I tickle him he gets this glazed look in his eyes as he laughs and oh how that makes me laugh. There is no laugh like the laugh of a little child. Its depth is beyond anything you have ever heard. And you can see it in their eyes, it's a complete submission to what they are feeling at that moment, total unleashed joy.

We all know that laughter is good for the soul. It shakes up your insides and makes your heart glad. I have a friend that laughs when she is scared. It really is not a time to laugh but it sure can change the mood for everyone. She has a joy for life and she laughs all the time at the littlest things. It's comforting to know one can laugh so easily. Sometimes we need to laugh just to shake off the dust of the world. And it can be the simplest thing. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine online and we were talking about ourselves but as though we were two other people dicussing someone we mutually knew. He had asked me a question and I replied flippantly that that was a personal question. And he said ' Just answer the damn question'. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. Now, you would probably find no humor in that or even get it. But I have to tell you, I laughed for a long time about that comment, he still uses it occasionally and it still makes me laugh. As I think of it now it makes me smile. He has a great sense of humor and has made me laugh on many occasions just from the words he has typed. We tell each other 'good night' and one night he typed 'good night, sleep tight! what the heck does that mean?'. It made me laugh so hard. Even now sometimes we write 'sleep tight' with a question mark. Nothing big, just something simple that tickles our thoughts.

One day I was looking out the window and my cat was coming from across the street, walking slow and as I watched, something scared him and he came completely off the ground, landed and then just kept walking. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I laugh as I write this just seeing him in my mind come a foot off the ground for who knows what. Maybe a leaf made a noise that startled him or a bug crawled on him, I don't know. I only know that it was so funny.

There are many kinds of laughs. Everyone has their own signature laugh. Some can be annoying, some are quiet, some booming and hearty, all are very infectious. I know I have heard them all. Even the annoying laughs hold true that it comes from deep within. A laugh that tickles the soul and spreads like wildfire. You can have a room full of people laughing uncontrollably by just one person beginning to laugh. You know the laugh, the one that brings tears to your eyes and then you are holding your stomache because it hurts from laughing. And even when the deep laugh is over you are still thinking of it and laughing again. Oh my how good that feels. Then there are those sad people that are always so stoic and never laugh. I like to think that they go home and laugh, doubled over at what they heard or saw.

When my youngest son was about 9, he would run down our hall to go to the bathroom. It is a long dark hall.  One night I went down the hall behind him and hid in the classroom. I heard the bathroom door open and he is standing at the door, I am on my hands and knees where he cannot see me. He starts counting in a  whisper.... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 and then he runs, as he gets to the classroom door I crawl out of the room growling. I am telling you the boy caught air finishing that run. I rolled on the floor laughing. I had to stop typing this as I still laugh so hard at the sight of him. Memories are a joy and can make us laugh years later.

We all need to laugh, just as we all need to cry. It has a cleansing effect to our inner self. I love to laugh and love to hear people laugh. It is good for us. It can be a joke, or a word, the look on someones face, someones fright, we have been known to laugh at ourselves. Many of us have even laughed at someone falling, no it's not funny but something strikes us inside in that moment of the unnexpected and we cannot help but laugh. There is nothing better for our souls than a good belly laugh. It is nothing you can plan. But when laughter strikes you it is always welcomed. So next time you see or hear something funny just give in to it and laugh til your heart is content. It's one of the best things we can do for ourselves. Now, what makes you laugh?