Laughter is the Best Medicine
Recently, my family and I headed north for our yearly, 4th of July tradition of spending time at my brother and sister-in-law’s cabin in the deep woods of Wisconsin. We’ve been vacationing there for as long as I can remember with the exception of a few years. It’s a tradition my children never want to miss. They love it as much as I do.
When I tell people we don’t really go anywhere, they seem surprised. The best part of going to the cabin is really just about hanging together on the dock by day (in between water sports), and sitting around the campfire by night. Most of our conversations are filled with laughter which is good for the soul. Actually, laughing is beneficial for us.
Some benefits of laughter include:
Relaxes your muscles (relieves tension)
Improves cardiac health (by increasing your heart rate and oxygen level in the blood)
Boosts the immune system (less stress)
Lower blood pressure (releases endorphins)
During our stay there’s always suggested games, usually from my daughter and this year was no exception. We played a known campfire game to everyone but Richard (Hannah’s boyfriend). So he was the lucky or not-so-lucky participant of the game. The player believes a story is being made up and their job is to figure out the plot by asking yes or no questions. In reality, they’re creating the story themselves by how a question is asked.
In the end, a possible murder occurred, during which nothing was stolen and may or may not have had anything to do with a refrigerator. However, there were some naked bodies driving a snowmobile (names withheld), plus three male and one female moose that came along for the ride. We laughed so hard, we howled! Richard was given an out a few times but was determined to figure out the story.
The next day, the neighbor came over on the paddleboat to asked about all the noise the night before. She stated it sounded like someone was getting yelled at by several people….HAHAHA! I guess we were pretty loud.
I hope you’re finding time to laugh and enjoy the silly things about life. Laughter is contagious. Next time you hear someone belly laughing, I dare you not to chuckle a little or break out in a smile. Laughter is the best medicine for my soul. I’m guessing for yours too.
xoxox…..Sheryl
PS…..Richard was such a good sport! I’m pretty sure I would have lost patience much earlier in the game.