This came out 6 years ago, but my 2 brain cells don’t remember it, so maybe you’ll enjoy it again, too.
Many of the readers of Before Morning Breaks are folks who’ve tromped the by-ways and vine-littered trails of life. The souvenirs they’ve picked up along their illustrious and rock-an-a-hard-place journeys are gemstones of stories and wisdom.
So when you ask this sort of folk: “What would you like for…..(Valentines, Christmas, birthday, whatever)
They say….“Nothing. I don’t want a thing.”
I asked for this $260,000 Sport Yacht Cruiser…but Mr. Dallas Cowboy fan only laughed.
A few really, really brave souls will tell you, “Just a bit of time with you.”
But the truth is:
There’s something we all can use.
A laugh.
A delicious, wonderful laugh that has no spaces in it for second guesses.
You feel it instantly when a friend has blanketed you with one of these laughs. There’s nothing about it that’s rueful or spider-webbed with cynicism.
It’s a gift, given with grace and ease. A gift that confirms you as a traveling partner. You may be stumbling toward different goals, but for that precious moment, you’re both on the same road.
So, I’m suggesting when you need to gift the person who has everything:
- listen to each other’s stories
- trade tea, hardtimes, and good books
- plot the overthrow of small minds
- commiserate about the head-scratching mysteries of love, life and death.
- And most of all….LAUGH…deep from the belly without any thought that you sound like a coyote in heat, or look like a Jello jiggler.
Let ’er rip…..laugh.
Many of you have certainly made me guffaw and snort. It’s unfortunate we can’t hear each other’s laughs over the internet. We’ve added “LOL” and Happy faces until their edges have become worn and faded—like much-used Welcome Mats. 🙂
And yet…I thank you for your comments and your blogs about your mistakes and stories of how “human” you are. Thanks for making me and so many others laugh.
Before Morning Breaks 
I’m not the least discriminatory…I will laugh with anyone that will laugh with me or send me a piece of humor. One of the up sides of this confinement is the jokes I have received from people, some I hadn’t heard from for many months. Your blog is better than a fresh cup of coffee in the morning! Thanks for the joy and inspiration, Barb!
LikeLike
Humour (often black or offbeat) has kept me afloat more times than I can remember.
I hope to continuing laughing, snickering, snorting forever.
All I want for Christmas is Boxing Day. The fuss is over, I can point hungry people to the fridge and with luck I have a new book (or six) to devour.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have a wicked sense of humor, so I’m pretty sure you will never be without a laugh. May Your Boxing Day come early this year.
LikeLike
My dogs. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t laugh several times at their shenanigans.
P.S. Barb, that Cruiser is YOU!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, dogs and raccoons are the comedy fools of the animal world.
LikeLike
Nothing like a goodly giggle to cheer one up, indeed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My family and my friends…we always keep each other laughing, those good deep belly laughs. My philosophy is to ‘Always find a reason to laugh. It may not add years to your life, but it will surely add life to your years.’
LikeLike
Usually I will say -“Just something consumable.” I really could add,”if you don’t have time for the odd tea.”
The sins of my youth are nipping at my soul now that I’m retired. I’m making a number of amends to my departed Mom. All the younger people in my life are so incredibly busy and unavailable that I continuously wonder if it’s something I’ve said! So, truly, time to share some of their lives would be the ultimate best gift – and with each one of them, laughter would be a big part of it.
I love my blogging friends of similar warp and woof! Thanks, Barb!
LikeLike
Barb!! This is soooo true. And I do, every dang chance I get. With whomever is available to do it with. Lots of those with my gal pals. I am usually the instigator and I love it. Nothing better than a good laugh, a giggle, a gufaw. Did you say book?? Oh boy! Congrats. When, what, details please! So happy for you! So good to wake up and see a comment from you this morning! Margie
LikeLike
This is hilarious. Great post. Love you in that car. I don’t care to be a ‘brave soul’ any more, and claim “some time with” ANYone!!
LikeLike
Oh Barb, you’re the one person I would really like to have tea and share giggles with. Pity you’re so far away! 😦
LikeLike
Great suggestion!
I love laughing with my wife – those laugh til you’re out of breath, look at each other and start all over again laughs.
LikeLike
I’m with all my kids and grandkids this week and we are celebrating the Christmas we didn’t have in December. I think we are laughing more than usual because it is much easier to relax and enjoy Christmas in February than it is in December!
I laughed a lot yesterday when you and Al and a few others left your funny comments about my post on the NBFP Club.
LikeLike
My kids (now grown) and my hubby make me laugh. We find humor in a lot of things, more so now that we are older. Laughter connects us in ways other facets of life does not.
LikeLike
I’m seeing a trend here. We laugh a lot when we’re kids…and when we’re much older. What happens in those in-between years? Maybe life isn’t turning out the way we dreamed during those years…and then we get enough perspective to see that it worked out anyway. Ooops…sorry…didn’t mean to get all philosophical on you. Go have a laugh on your kids. Don’t kids owe us one by now?
LikeLike
Lovely post, Barb. My husband Phil still makes me laugh every day, after 20 years.
LikeLike
I wonder if marriages go through a “laugh” stage and a “scowl” stage. We’ve finally aged enough where almost everything is funny…even things that would’ve made us groan and peeved years ago. Congratulations on twenty wonderful years.
LikeLike
I want peace and harmony, no stress, and time to enjoy it. I want good friends who will be there when needed even if I do not ask, and who will call and invite me to go somewhere or do something with them because they want to spend time with me. I want laughter which lifts my heart and soul and makes me smile and laugh. I want to enjoy the years I have left.
LikeLike
May you have those things, Rose. And thanks for sharing your laughter which lifts many hearts.
LikeLike
There’s nothing better than laughter among friends. On a trip with five other friends once, I laughed and smiled so often and so much that my face actually hurt! It was wonderful. I can use some more of that – now please!
LikeLike
Wow. I can’t think of the last time I laughed so much I was hoarse and my face hurt. You’ve set a new goal for all of us to achieve this year. Face-aching laughter.
LikeLike
How odd you should post this now. Just the other day I was driving my 14 year-old granddaughter to her swim meet. We were playing a word game and she said something I found really funny. I started laughing and the more I laughed, the harder I laughed. Just hit my funny bone right, I guess. She started laughing too and I could see from the expression on her face that we had really connected. She was proud that she had said something that made me laugh so hard. One of those treasured moments you are talking about.
LikeLike
Weird isn’t it how it’s hard to explain laughter, but the moment of connection is amazing. I often think of this when I’m having a hoot fest in a grocery line, and I walk away feeling in touch with my fellow humans. May you have many more laughs with your granddaughter.
LikeLike
Yes, a laugh…not just any laugh either. How about a belly roll? Or a non-stop giggle fest with your teenager – I still have a couple of those at home. Oh, and don’t forget to make all your blogging buddies smile out in cyberspace…Valentine’s Day is no time to be stuffed in your shirt! 🙂 Such a delightful post. It truly made me smile 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks M.J., For a belly laugh, I’m going to trying jogging a couple of miles. That should be a hoot. (At least for the people driving by, seeing me legs up, heaving for breath. Happy V. Day.
LikeLike
A girl after my own heart!!! The real deal (laughing, winking, joking), is so much better than interwebbing social media… altho’ what’s great for me is that the cyberspace is better than nothing when one lives oceans away from loved ones: family and friends. It’s a price we South Africans pay for dearly: Split Families.
LikeLike
Oh….I can’t wait to get over to your place and soak up some of your stories and culture. Isn’t that the truth about moving so far away from family? Buth here’s the thing…it certainly made me connect more quickly with others in my new community. May you have lots of laugh with your neighbors.
LikeLike
I do this every single day. Some days, I make myself laugh. My favorite is to be laughing with my best friend. She and I get into some monster trouble if the walls have ears. 😉 Glad to see you ❤ xxx Hope your extra time in the FAB world is paying good dividends.
LikeLike
Thanks, Red. Isn’t it great to have a friend to laugh with? Yeah, all that extra time leads to some pretty funny predicaments. Wish we lived closer, so we could get into trouble together. Miss you.
LikeLike
You and me both. I am going to have to book a stop in your neck of the woods when I am on tour the next time. 😉 I miss you, too. I wish only the best for you ❤
LikeLike
This post made me smile and reminded me of my funniest friend who has kept me laughing through divorce and the death of my mother and all the other usual ups and downs of life. I suppose she is a bit irreverent, but what I like most is that she never takes herself or life too seriously.
LikeLike
Could you share her name and phone number? We all need a friend like that!!! What a goal to work on the rest of my life…Never take myself too seriously. I feel more relaxed already. I know you’ve had a year full of “growth.” My heart is with you.
LikeLike
Yes, yes, yes, a good laugh means more to me than perfume and jewels. Don’t need a darned thing, but there’s always room for another giggle.
LikeLike
I wish I could remember jokes. I often get in a situation where a joke would be a good icebreaker and all I can remember are dirty limericks.
LikeLike
My kinda valentine! I love to see life from the “top-end”…and a laugh is just the way to do it. And may I say, “your post was beautifully written!” Thanks
LikeLike
Helen, you can say anything you want (and often do). I find a laugh makes the situation a little easier to swallow, especially in church meetings. snort.
LikeLike
My husband and I had dinner tonight with a favorite couple. They are favorite because we spend the whole night laughing. Your post is so true. Laughter is a precious gift.
LikeLike
It’s often rare to find folks you can laugh with. The older I get the more ephemeral the pleasures. A good meal and a great laugh with friends is more priceless than Mastercard.
LikeLike
Fantastic post! I love to make people laugh – it beats a serious discussion any day!
LikeLike
Sweetie cat. Your posts make me laugh, cry and think long past the written word. I think you always leave space between your words for a great discussion…anyday. May your laughs be many in the time ahead.
LikeLike
Perfect timing for this wonderful post, Barb. It’s time for the annual ritual of gift giving for my mother in-law, who is a delilghtful, good hearted and good humored woman who, at 87, needs nothing.
Perhaps a lovely coupon book of giggles is just the ticket.
Welcome back. I’ve missed you.
LikeLike
Thanks honey-bunny. I only post once a month now. I have to resist the urge to blog about all the other things I’m doing with my time. Around Christmas I evaluated how many hours I spent on blogging and what I could do if I put them elsewhere. I lurk around, trying catch a bit of everyone’s blogs, but let’s just say…I’m busy creating laughs in my spare time. Let us know what you put in your coupons for your Mom-in-law.
LikeLike
Live, love, laugh and laugh some more. I love to make people laugh, especially when they need something to laugh at, even if the joke is on me. Kindred spirits are the ones I love to laugh with. You might know one of them!
LikeLike
Yes Moma….That seems to be an echoing thought here. We love to laugh with kindred spirits. I guess the other kind just look at us like we’re insane or disturbed in the head. (No wonder I get a lot of weird looks from strangers.)
LikeLike
I love a good laugh, Barb. I like this idea for a gift!
LikeLike
I laugh a lot at wine, Tom. I’ll be expecting your hilarous-filled bottles in the next Fed-Ex shipment.
LikeLike
I love this post so much! It made me laugh, for real!
All of my favorite people are ones that see things with the same funny perspective. A person’s sense of humor says so much about how they view life in general. Being able to find humor in the saddest of situations is a gift & life affirming.
I am meeting 3 girlfriends from high school next weekend in San Francisco & Napa. At the age of 50, I am positive we will laugh as hard as we did at 15!
LikeLike
May you laugh until you’re speechless. May you laugh until you have to go to the bathroom. May you laugh until even the air seems funny. Have a safe and funny trip. (and tell us about it when you get back, please.)
LikeLike