Laughter, Part 2...

This is one of my favorite quotes.  And laughter is one of my very favorite things.  My first blog post about it was here (it's worth checking out just to watch the commercial that's linked in it).  We laugh A LOT in our family...and in our marriage.  It's just the best.  I love how it sounds and how it feels.  I love how it lights up faces and fills a room.  I love when I make Kevin laugh.  It fills me with joy and pride.  I love when the kids are laughing with each other.  It also fills me with joy and pride.  I love when we get together with our siblings and their spouses/kids and the laughter is loud enough to be heard from outside the house.  So now, here are some random musings on laughter:

• I have been told that my laugh is a bit like Julia Roberts'.  I would never dare compare myself with her, but who doesn't love her laugh?!  I'll take it as a compliment!

• Now the answer to that question about 'who doesn't love her laugh' would apparently be Hannah, seeing as how she tends to roll her eyes and get embarrassed when I laugh in public...movies, restaurants, walking through the aisles at Walmart, or going to the mall with Kevin...

• Some of the best laughs I know. (you'll just have to take my word for it, since I don't have video or audio of them...but if you have the privilege of knowing these people, then I'm sure you'll agree):

• My sister-in-law, Heather (one of the first things I loved about her)
• My friend, Jessica Gloria (you can't help but smile when you hear it)
• My brother-in-law, Joel (AKA...wheezy mcgee)
• Mason's no-holding-back laugh (usually at something inappropriate)
• Hannah's mischievous giggles (also usually at something inappropriate)
• Kevin's full-body-writhing laugh (it's something to behold)

• You know how sometimes things just tickle you?  For some reason in that moment they're far funnier than they actually are?  Maybe on another day, or at a different moment in time, you wouldn't have had the same reaction (or over-reaction)?  Well 1 that comes to mind for me is: 

• The labor scene from the movie, Nine Months.  Sure it's funny, but I know full well it's probably not as funny as it was when I watched it with my mom and we just both died...laughing until we cried and then laughing some more.  One of my all-time favorite moments with my mom.  And it still gets me.  Every time.  Maybe because I'm reliving the moment, but whatever the reason I love it!

• My family LOVES watching TV together.  Our favorites are the ones that keep us laughing.  We can (and do) watch them over and over, and they never get less funny...especially The Office.

• The Office
• Friends
• Parks and Rec
• Bob's Burgers
• The Goldbergs

I wish you all lives full of joy and laughter.     :)

     

Positivity...

Positive Polly, Negative Nelly, Hopeful Holly, and Debbie Downer.  You know these gals, right?  (I actually wrote a children's book that I have yet to attempt publishing called Negative Nelly that was loosely based on my sweet Hannah...ha-ha-ha.)  They're flip sides of the same coins.   And we all have days where we're more Debbie than Holly or more Nelly than Polly...and visa-versa.  I like to consider myself a pretty positive person, and according to the Gallup Strengths survey positivity is one of my top-5 strengths.  I try to see the cup as half-full...to look through rose-colored glasses...to look on the bright side...and to find the silver lining in situations.  Though sometimes I slip, I just say a little prayer, and get back to more hope-filled thoughts.

 As I've been preparing for the upcoming school year, I've thought about an article we read at a staff meeting last year about marigolds and walnut trees.  (You can read it in its entirety here.  It's about teachers, but I think it fully applicable to everyone regardless of occupation or lack thereof.)  In short:

• Experienced gardeners know the benefits of planting marigolds. They are a companion plant. They protect other plants from weeds and pests, and encourage growth.  Human marigolds also encourage, support, and nurture growth in others. Their positive energy is contagious. They have a growth mindset.  We need to seek them out. We need to be the marigold for others.
  
• Walnut trees produce a toxic chemical that kills off other growth around them. They’re lovely on the outside, but at the root is the poison.  Human walnut trees look at others in a negative way. Being around them can make you feel insecure and discouraged. They breed negativity.  
  

I've been thinking about where I was a year ago.  And thinking about those near and dear to me who are currently facing struggles.  I know how easy it can be to let life's challenges get the best of you and let the negativity take over, but it's at these times when we truly NEED the Polly side of ourselves to come out.  

Think like Dumbledore:  

And if that's too nerdy for you, try this one:

And if you're looking for something based in scripture, here you go:

 And if none of those ideas work, then find those marigolds around you that can cover you in positive thoughts until you can find some of your own:

I have been so fortunate in life to be surrounded by incredible people:  family, friends, co-workers, and more.  These people have been my marigolds when I've been a walnut tree.  They have been my Polly's and Holly's when I've been a Nelly and a Debbie.  They have stuck by me and flooded me with positivity when things were not going so positively for me.  So I owe a HUGE thank you to all of them.  

So even when life gets tough:

Don't be a Debbie Downer:

Think positively and have as much gumption and stick-to-it-iveness as the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: