Laughter. Maybe it is the best medicine.

Every now and then I'll catch Joel Osteen's program on TV.  He's a pastor who has his sermons televised.  Tonight he talked about laughter and how important laughter can be in life to relieve tension and keep us joyful.  As I reflected in my life, I realized that I'm very blessed to have reasons to laugh so much.

Although work can sometimes be very stressful, it is a place where I definitely laugh.  I work with a Coordination Team.  The four of us are in charge of helping TAs, dealing with student issues, and preparing the basics of the lower-level Spanish courses.  But I think one of my favorite things about the job is how the four of us laugh when we're together.  Once, for example, we got a hearty chuckle when we reviewed a letter that a student brought in to excuse him from class.  The letter was from the student's apartment complex, and it said that the student should be excused from class for an entire week(!!!) because no one in the complex was allowed to leave that week from 8am to 1pm due to construction.  Um, really?  

My family also makes me laugh.  Yesterday, for example, I was talking to my parents via webcam when my friend called to make dinner plans.  I answered the phone to figure dinner out, but it was hard for me not to laugh when my parents started pretending like there was an earthquake back in California.  They shook the camera and started to move around quickly.  It was quite the sight to see.  :)  I somehow managed a "good bye" to my friend, but then had a "lean your head back" kind of laugh.  It brought tears to my eyes.

Whether it be because of a joke over lunch, a fun unexpected message, a favorite TV show, or a conversation at work, I hope we remember how great laughter is.  After all, life's too short not to smile and laugh.  :)