Laughter Really is the Best Medicine

Before I had kids, I worked for Community Hospital in a partial-psychiatric-hospitalization program for kids.  I loved my job, but in it I often heard some really terrible stories about what some of our patients and their families have been through.  I worked with kids who by age 10 had already attempted suicide or experienced hallucinations that told them to hurt themselves or someone they love.  These heartbreaking stories could sometimes be overwhelming and there were times when you just wanted to cry.  The staff's remedy to crying and becoming bogged down was to laugh.  Now understand that we never laughed at a child's expense but we learned to laugh at some of the silly things that would happen or at funny things the kids would say.  We even taught the kids how to laugh at themselves.  Our motto was "laugh so that you don't cry".  I think that this is a great motto for life, especially motherhood.  We can choose to get overwhelmed by the mess and the annoying things our kids and husbands do, or we can laugh it off.  For example, just yesterday my daughter asked for a cookie.  I told her "No".  I went to check on my son and I heard a strange sound coming from our kitchen.  I ran in there to find my 2 year old daughter kneeling on top of the kitchen table trying to get the cookie container open.  Now I could have snatched her up and put her in timeout or sent her to her room, but instead I just laughed.  I thought about how ingenious she was to find her step stool and climb up and try to sneak a cookie.  Now I am not condoning what she did.  She was not following mommy's rule, but sometimes it is okay to just laugh.  It becomes especially important on those days where you know it is going to be a long day.  You have to go to the store and the bank and your husband needs his jeans washed and the house needs cleaned because you are hosting playgroup in the morning and you have church tonight, and you also need to go into work for just a couple of hours, oh and you need to figure out what is for dinner.   You know the kind of days I am talking about.  Learn to laugh so that you don't cry.  You will feel alot better.  Life is too short to take everything so seriously.  I would love to hear some of your stories about some funny things your kids have done, like coloring all over your walls:)