The ability to Laugh 

 

 I still remember the horrifying feelings of accidentally breaking something when I was a child. I would feel overwhelmed with grief and dread before revealing the broken object to my mother. Because my Daddy was in the Army we traveled all over Europe and collected some very fine souvenirs from different countries. Many of the souvenirs were small and made of glass, porcelain, amber or wood (all unfortunately breakable). I think the most cherished by my mother were the few pieces of Polish Pottery that she had received from various people as gifts. My mom was never a collector or enjoyed trinkets (as they cluttered up our already small living spaces), but she enjoys beauty and practicality. The Polish Pottery was just that, beautiful and useful! But with seven children and dozens of moves the pottery began to diminish. But my mother had the opposite reaction of what you would expect one in her position to have. The normal reaction to this happening would be something like that “I give so much to everyone else can’t you guys be careful with my things! I do not have much but this is the only thing I want to keep nice. Why were you so clumsy? How could you do something like that?” Well my mom would look at the plate or dish and she would look up into the wet eyes of the miserable child, she would sigh a little and her mouth would start to smile at the corners and then she would say it was okay. She would than proceed to laugh. She came to see the awful truth, it is impossible to preserve the things of this world. She always told us that people are eternal and stuff will burn at the end of the age. Stuff rots, fades, decays, but man will live forever, so why fuss over the stuff that breaks and distress the ones who are really important! The ability to laugh over trifles makes this world a happier place to be. It knits the hearts of the children to their parents because they see that they are more important in the lives of their parents then their trinkets! I think laughing over messes is the only way to survive in a large family. Whether you are potty training a 2 year old and your bathroom floor is covered in unmentionables, to the sump pump going out in the middle of the night and wake up to find your kitchen in 6 inches of water, just laugh! It gives us strength and sets an example to the children in your care; they see your joyfulness and join in the efforts to put things right with the same joyful spirit! Laughing is one of the greatest secrets in keeping one’s sanity in this craziness in which we live! We have to live according to the spirit to be able to respond in this way. If our hearts are full of irritation, frustration, and unkindness we will respond harshly and rashly to the ones that we love. If we live and walk by the spirit, he gives us the strength we need and brightens the way by giving us the joyful sound of laughter!

From a grateful daughter ~ Paulina Marie