December 12, 2016 – Humor in the face of death

          Cleaning I unearthed an email that I sent all my friends.  It was to all those friends who had sent up prayers for my Mom when she was in the hospital with her quadruple heart by-pass.  She was home after a long hospital stay.  All during that process Mom was upbeat and looked for humor at every turn.

         The email reported the following:

I received a phone call at 7:00 p.m. last night.

          “Hello”, I said.

          “Would you be interested in any magazine subscriptions?  This elderly woman needs to earn extra money to pay for her hospital bills!”  Mom said.

          I laughed. Her humor put me at ease.  I bet she had been thinking that line up all afternoon waiting for me to get home from work. She always has clever lines in the face of adversity.

          Then she said, “I wanted to call so that Dad and I can go into the bathroom and he can give me my sponge bath and for you not to call at the wrong time.”  She paused and said coquettishly, “The candles in the bath are already lighted.”

          I thought, isn’t she a little minx at 77 years of age and smiled. How wonderful for her to be back to her delightful self.

          She was on a roll . . . next she said, “I am going to have Dad take a picture of my scar because no one will ever believe it when it heals.  Do you think your husband is old enough to see that picture?”

          I laughed again.

          What was reaffirmed that moment . . . my Mom’s mantra has always been:

Laughter is the best medicine.

          If you happen to be having a difficult time during this holiday season, try to find the humor in whatever is causing you misery.  It will improve your outlook and uplift your spirits.

Since then my mantra has been:

Laughter can work small miracles.