On Sunday Sister Decker (not that most of you even know who Sister Decker is, but it's Nursery Man's wife for those of you "in the know".-when we first moved to this ward, Hunter was in nursery! Brother and Sister Decker were the nursery leaders at the time. Hunter LOVED them and started calling Brother Decker Nursery Man. It stuck, we still call him that. GEEZ all that in parenthesis) gave a wonderful talk. Her talk was based on an article called The Power of Laughter by Gary Palmer. First of all, this woman was the perfect person to give this talk. She is always giggling and is oh so sweet and cute. I like her. But second, I loved what she had to say. Now, I will say, Hope was being a little bit of a critter at that time and I did have to leave a couple times. Probably, should have left more than I did, but I really wanted to hear what she said.
Did you know that on average, children laugh 400 times a day? Adults, sadly only 15! That is just not right. So, I have been really making an effort to be more "child like" and lightening up. Laughing at things when maybe I feel the urge to get ugly.
For instance, with Hayden and the cookies. Gut reaction, "oh don't eat all those cookies...that's not good for you'. Boring! Instead we laughed about it and took his picture, way more fun. "Somebody" was misbehaving last night and Scott and I got to laughing about how they were sent to their room and they were outside the "circle of trust". Remember in Meet the Parents? So, then we were cracking up about that movie and remember all the funny scenes. Milking a cat, I'm watching you...you know. Love that movie.
So, the point of my rambling, go read that article and laugh a little more! After all, don't you want your kids to remember you with a smile on your face and a little laughter in your heart?
12 comments:
heather, that post makes me feel good. i laugh a lot. maybe not 400 times a day, but definitely more than 15. but sometimes in our religion, i feel guilty for making light of things, or being "silly" - even though my natural happy personality wants to laugh & have fun. now, i won't feel as guilty as i should about it. thanks heathe!
Good reminder. I laugh with the best of them. There have been times I could have laughed or cried.
That's a good talk. Laughter is the best medicine. There are a bagillion times in my life where I've cried... Looking back, the tears weren't worth it, and I should have been laughing!
Great post. I think we will get along so much better with our kids if we laugh more and criticize less. I definitely need to work on that. LOVE Meet the Parents it kills me.
i vote YES for laughing! when we picked a family motto {geekin' out here} we picked "men are that they might have joy" because that's our main concern - living joyfully. it's not always in practice, but we try!
Madison called them 'Boy Decker' and 'Girl Decker.' Best nursery leaders ever...
That is an awesome post, Heather! And so true. How many times a day could I turn that grouchy reaction of mine into a laugh? My children give me many opportunities to laugh, if I will take them. :) Thanks for reminding me. I hope whoever got into trouble is now back in the circle of trust (love that movie!)
yeah that was a great talk. haha "circle of trust"..i forgot about that, i'll have to use that one. we love that movie.
I am a firm believer in laughter...thanks for the post!
Thanks for the article! I read it and really liked it.. I try to incorporate a good sense of humor in not so great conditions, but can always do better! Shoot, who wouldn't want to work on that?!
what a cool post Heather. I'm gonna laugh more. Laughing just FEELS good. less ornery, more laughing. Great reminders:)
Laughter is almost always a great answer. It's hard to remember when you're livid -- but probably is the best choice. Great thoughts, as always, Heather!
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