Nan's Calendar

by   Nan Forehand,  Statesville, NC

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
Ecclesiastes 3:4

When was the last time you laughed until you cried?  If you haven't had a good "bust a gut funny" laugh lately, do yourself a favor.  It's so much better when you can share this kind of laughter with someone you love.  I'm still feeling the after effects of an episode late last night.  It was the silliest, most unexpected situation I think I have ever had in my entire life.
Earlier this week, our seven year old computer simply died and we purchased a new one.  This one has features we've never seen before.  Our daughter called last night and we talked a few minutes and then she decided to come over.   She visited with Allen and John and at some point, she and I got on the computer.  She's a computer wiz and she started teaching me about some of the features.  The computer has a camera on it and she got us up on the screen "live".  The feature is called photo booth.  Then, she clicked onto "effects" and the next thing I knew, I was literally breathless from laughing so hard.  It was very late and we were trying not to wake up the guys as they had already gone to bed.  Do you know how hard it is to stifle laughter when you just want to let it all out without a care as to how loudly you're laughing?  Controlled laughter is tough at best! She had clicked on "x-ray".  I looked at us "live" on the computer screen and we looked so silly in"x-ray" that I couldn't believe what was happening.  We looked ghastly such that all shades were reversed in black and white.  Our teeth looked black and our dark hair looked white.  You get the picture, right; we looked like living and breathing photo negatives!   That's it!  We looked like living and breathing photo negatives from 35 mm film!
Why am I sharing this story with you?  Laughter is contagious!  Sometimes, our perception of situations and circumstances is so serious, we forget to enjoy the humorous side of life.
You see, this story wouldn't be today's message if our daughter had not, on the spur of the moment, decided to come over for a brief visit last night.  It was one of the most wonderful, unexpected visits we have had in a while.  An already great day became and awesome day thanks to an unexpected visit from our wonderful daughter.  She and I will remember being in the "photo booth" together for a very long time and we will both, where ever we are at that moment of remembering, smile and relive that wonderful mother/daughter time together.  I will encourage her to share this same story with others, as will I.  As in this case, the story teller may get more out of the story than the audience, but who knows what lesson the story will bring, as well.
Yes, "stuff" can get very heavy at times, but always remember to find something to share with each other that is so positive it overpowers the negative and replaces the heavy weight with a feather light feeling that sweetly lingers in your heart.  A good dose of "bust a gut funny" will work wonders for both of you!
It's a beautiful, chilly morning and I must get up now and get ready for work!  Take care and be sure to enjoy the gift of this day God has given us and be sure to make laughter a part of it!  I hope you laugh until you cry!!!  Love, Nan