365 Things to Smile About Day 364. Mom and Dad and Laughing :)

Today was a curl up in bed, try to study but also try not to freak out about all the big changes happening in the next two weeks!  It wasn't a pretty day.  But then on the way home from church this evening I called my parents and my dad picked up the phone and I have to say, just the sound of his voice brought my anxiety level down a few notches and I finally smiled.

It made me think of all the times my parents have been there, pulling me up out of tears, anger, frustration, pain, fear and every other terrifying and painful thing that has happened in my life.  I truly believe I wouldn't be where I am without them.  And one of the many things they are able to do is make me laugh!

I couldn't help but remember only a few days after my hysterectomy I was standing in the hallway by my bedroom with my hand hovering over my incision, but not touching it.  They had used glue instead of stitches and for some reason that made me nervous.  It hurt and I was still not ready to process everything that had just happened.  I'm not sure I've been able to even now.  All I know was that I felt so down that in that moment all I could do was stand there and just not move.

Then my dad walked down the hallway with something in his hand asking me if I could help him.  I looked up and he was holding a thing of dental floss that in some way had come apart.  As he handed me one end to hold I completely missed taking it and we both watched helplessly as the entire spool unraveled like a yoyo as the heavier end fell to the floor.  Every inch of that dental floss was played out from my dad's hand to the ground and down the hallway.  Then my dad started to laugh!  Just laughing really hard at the ridiculous thing that had just happened and it felt like something inside of me clicked back open and I started laughing too!  Then I started crying because my incision hurt from the laughing, which for some reason made me laugh even harder as I begged him to stop laughing so I could because it hurt to laugh!  At which point my dad turns to me and tells me to be careful that I don't come unglued!  Which made us both laugh even harder!!  My mom came in quickly wondering why dad was laughing so hard and I was laughing and crying and begging him to stop!  She took one look at the dental floss and started laughing and then of course dad had to repeat his glue joke and for the next few minutes all we did was stand there and laugh!!

I'm not saying that from that moment on everything changed.  It definitely didn't.  But I felt just a little bit better.  My parents kept finding ways to make me smile and laugh through the next couple years of treatment and recovery and trying to find my path again.  So I know that every time I hear their voices, no matter how bad the day is, I feel a small smile at the comfort and support I know I have from them.  "Luba you" mom and dad!  Love you so very much!