Laughing

Oh dear.

That phrase keeps running through my head. Let's just say that life got a little more complicated again today.

I was cutting Tom's hair and bent down to pick up something I'd dropped and when I went to stand back up my back spasmed and I couldn't straighten up again. And so I can't really walk right now.

But the weird thing is that right after it happened, I felt more like laughing than crying. Don't get me wrong, it hurts like crazy and it definitely adds a new dimension to the whole half-blind-very-pregnant-mother-of-two-just getting-over-the-flu dynamic I'm living right now. It's just kind of funny. Life, that is.

I've been thinking amidst these different challenges about how people respond to what happens to them and how it can really shape who you are as a person. It is really easy to get caught up in our own problems and to lose sight of the bigger picture. I am guilty of this myself as some things I've dealt with have thrown me off kilter, at least at first. But I am reminded that it is our trials and how we respond to them that really mold us into the kind of people that we are to become.

One of my favorite poems is this:

My life is but a weaving,

Between my God and me.

I do not choose the colors,

He worketh steadily.

Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow,

And I, in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper

And I the underside.

Not 'til the loom is silent,

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Will God unroll the canvas

And explain the reasons why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the skillful Weaver's hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

-Author Unknown

Anyway, one of the biggest reasons I can laugh about this happening today is because of Tom. He honestly is so fun to be married to. He makes me laugh out loud almost every single day. Luckily I was almost done cutting his hair when I hurt my back, but he wasted no time getting me to laugh while I was hobbling around. He's been humming and singing some Mother Goose song all day about a crooked little man who lived with his crooked little family in a crooked little house. And earlier when I was crawling around the floor on all fours since it was the only way to move, he got down on my level and asked me what animal we were pretending to be.

Laughing is definitely more fun than the alternative. I laughed again tonight when Braden asked me what we are going to do tomorrow. What he meant by his question is "What fun activities do you have planned for me tomorrow?' and 'Are we going to the library or the park or to do something else exciting?" I laughed because I'm really not sure exactly what we are going to do tomorrow, other than pretend we are different farm animals all day. As I mentioned, I have been crawling around getting a close-up of my rugs and hardwood floors today (and they are disgusting), so maybe I should teach the kids to vacuum and sweep the floors?

I guess I will figure tomorrow out when it comes. In closing, here are a few quotes I like about laughter:

Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. (Bob Newhart)

Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life. (Author Unknown)

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. (Irish Proverb)