Laughter from the Soul

March 1, 2022

I have taken on a new interest in watching how people laugh! I don’t mean a polite laugh or a quick little chuckle. I refer to the kind of laughter that starts from the forehead, involves the eyes, the cheeks, the mouth, shows teeth, and causes the rest of the body to shake in glorious happiness!

Whenever I return home and I’m about to enter my house, I experience this kind of happiness, because I know that I’m about to reunite with my dog Bustey!!!! He immediately turns to look at me, jumping off his seat, sometimes pausing and taking a long stretch, then not delaying his relief by greeting me with joy, excitement, and a big smile that causes his entire body to shake; he causes my pulse to race even more with joy as I watch his ‘hiney’ and his tail shake, back and forth, at high speed, as he tries to make contact with me!! Such a beautiful sight!! His reaction to me causes me to immediately drop everything and sit on the closest chair or floor as we envelop ourselves in hugs, licks and laughter!!! Every time!!

Then there’s my mom, who normally has a mostly stoic type of disposition. Not lately though! I have been happily relishing her laugh out loud with such enjoyment; it seems to come from deep inside her soul and stops me in my tracks, making me long to experience some of what she is feeling! It’s a unique sound that she makes that reminds me of one I knew from my childhood!

And recently, I watched a dear friend get kisses from his dog that started on the back of his head, his dog then moving around to his neck, as he continued to smother him with licks. This resulted in amazing joy and excitement on my friend’s face, creating that ‘kodak moment’ which hangs in my office today. This friend could not deny or control the deep satisfaction he experienced, bursting into quiet laughter and causing his entire 6′ 1″ sculpted body to squirm with happiness. That was a sight to behold!

All of that being said, I’m still in awe of my mom’s vocalization and cannot wait to experience that pure child-like excitement/joy that will allow me to utter the same sounds in my laughter. Life is too short and seems to be spiraling into years and then into phases of life. Why just yesteryear I was starting out as a new nurse! And today, look at me, I have entered this post-retirement journey! And simple pleasures, like these, grab my attention and makes me yearn for lots more of them in my life.

More to come…