Children - the little buggers can drain your energy, break your
valuables and absolutely send you to the moon sometimes. The
range of trouble can go from babies with their high decibel
crying to toddlers with their never-ending, cluttering curiosity
to your preschooler with his gripes and whines and on to your
grade-schooler with her indignant attitudes. I have not yet the
privilege of the higher ages yet, but I hear it escalates to
over-sensitivity and highly dramatic meltdowns. With all this
chaos, you have to wonder sometimes why we make the commitment
to enter into motherhood. While the answer is not always
immediately clear, we all know and can relate to the flipside of
parenthood that offers a heapin' helpin' of good ‘ole fun and
laughter!
Take the innocent observations of a child. One story that comes
to mind involves our two cats and my grade-schooler. While our
male cat stays inside, the female bolts out the door any time
she gets the slightest chance, regardless of who’s in her way
and how many groceries might come tumbling down from her
intrusion. By day’s end, she returns after her fill of outside
adventure. One night, my six-year-old noticed a change to the
usual ritual. Amazed, he yelled through the house that I “come
look”. Upon my entrance to the room, he says “Look! Soccer is so
glad to see Tasha that he is even hugging her with his legs."
Yes, kitty may have been attempting fruitless amour but the
lessons he taught my son on that particular night were nothing
but heartfelt and loving.
Another story comes to mind from a friend. She was telling her
preschooler about the day he was born. With great emphasis and
plenty of body language she exclaimed that she struggled and
struggled for hours, but then gave a mighty push and out came
his head. Then, after catching her breath she pushed one final
time and out came the rest of his body. Puzzled the little guy
paused a moment and then inquisitively asked “…and then you put
my head on my body?" Just ask any mom and there will be many
examples of the never-ending humor that moms are privy to during
any given day.
The truth is this joviality is more than just fun, it is
downright healthy. Studies have shown that laughter is, indeed,
the best medicine. Let’s starts with the famous quote from
Voltaire “The art of medicine consists of keeping the patient
amused while nature heals the disease.” Wellness centers across
the U.S. have determined that humor and/or laughter lowers blood
pressure, boosts the immune system, reduces muscle tension,
fosters immediate relaxation, decreases stress hormones,
elevates your mood and, quite frankly, just makes you feel good!
And, for extra measure, it exercises your body. Not only does
your body go into an isometric contraction with a good chuckle,
but the contraction also centralizes around your abdominal area.
Sounds like another great reason for us mommies to partake in
the joys of a hearty guffaw!
With all these reasons to take in a comedy or two, not to
mention finding the light hearted side of most any situation,
laughter is a sure bet for easing the tensions of motherhood.
And coming full circle, it is also one of the good reasons to
become a mother in the first place.
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