The Power of Laughter

 "Laughter is America's most important export."
Walt Disney

Today I noticed that Sweet Caroline has almost mastered rolling over. It would be hard not to notice. Every time she made it to her stomach, she let loose with another new achievement - a really happy sound, somewhere between a squeal and a screech. It's not a full on laugh, but an expression of contentment that only a baby can make.

In an article by Maria Shriver she wrote:
"Go out of your way to laugh today. Try to laugh everyday and surround yourself with people who make you laugh. That has made all the difference in my life." Maybe that's why working with babies has me feeling so good lately. Babies make me laugh. [http://mariashriver.com]

In the same newsletter, I read an article by a woman whose mother resides in a nursing home (I've noticed that nursing homes are becoming recurring theme on this blog) and suffering from depression. Until "a very talented art teacher at the nursing home didn’t take “no” for an answer. She kept inviting my Mom to come and simply observe the class. (No pressure whatsoever.)
After a couple of weeks of just watching, Mom started doing. And doing. And doing.
Twenty paintings later, she had her first one-woman art show." [http://mariashriver.com/guides/wendi-knox]


After reading this I'm hereby amending my list of must-haves ultimate nursing home (see previous post). There will need to be an art room. Tables covered in brown craft paper. A box of 64 Crayola crayons for every resident. Polymer clay. Finger paints. Easels. Scissors. Paste. Gel pens. Chalk board and colored chalk. And Sharpies. Thin Sharpies. Thick Sharpies. Black Sharpies. Every color under the sun Sharpies.  Who can be uncheered with Sharpies around?

May you be surrounded by laughter and color.
Merry ME

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Every Little Bit Helps

Image
UPDATE:  I'll be picking a winner on Thanksgiving Day. So make a donation and leave your name in the comment section below.  ME UPDATE:  I see a tiny problem but it should be easy to fix. Commenting anonymously doesn't get your name in the drawing. And there's no way to tell Anonymous A from Anonymous B. Are you different or the same? I need to be able to get back in touch with you somehow. We can exchange email addy's later. But please at least leave your name. If you still comment as Anonymous, just say your name in the comment.  You can use first name and last initial. Or last name alone. Or an Alias. Just so I can get your name in the hat. And really, thank you. Thank you again and again. Merry ME _____ I always breathe a sigh of relief when a storm veers away from Jacksonville.  At the same time it's hard not to feel guilty that it went somewhere else.  I was in no way prepared for Hurricane Sandy. Like a lot of others, I felt like the...
Read more

An Easter Miracle

Image
How is it that after someone you love dies, time moves on even when it feel like its standing still? Philosophers, poets and writers have tried to answer that question since time began. I don't have the answer. I just know that, by what I can only imagine is the Grace of God, it does. When you heart is broken into something resembling a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle and there are no directions on how to put it together, somehow it mends. When some else dies and it cracks again, God stitches the old wound and the new wound together into a patchwork of healed scars. Fifteen years ago, when I watched my mother draw a breath then counted the seconds before she took another but none came, I sat by her bed and tried to imagine being a motherless child. Then I did what any kid would do, ran down the long hospital corridor sounding the alarm. "My mother isn't breathing." "My mother isn't breathing."  Want to see doctors, nurses, CNAs, and cleaning ladies tur...
Read more

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY BLOG PARTY

Image
In honor of women everywhere ... Welcome to the International Women's Day Blog Party (Turn up the sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuB3_HLcFfk ) International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. To this end, this party is a way to honor those special ladies who have inspired us and made us better than we ever thought we could be. It is with gratitude and pride I welcome you to my blog. I'm anxious to hear your stories and celebrate your choices. All you have to do is go down to the bottom of this post and click on the comment section. That will take you to another page where you can write your tribute in the space provided. You can use your Google/Blogger user name or remain anonymous. There is nothing to join. If you choose to post anonymously please leave your name in the comment section so we'll all know who you are. When you're through hit publish and voila your lady is o...
Read more