The Gift of Laughter
WOW! (pun intended) it's been a bit of ... you know ... a challenge the last few weeks/months. That's about the most politically correct way I could thing of to say it. You know what I mean, right?
No matter who you are, where you live, or how much money you have in savings (do people still do that?) - gas prices are rising, groceries are getting more expensive, and things are just plain weird. There's talk of war on every channel, and I won't even go there and bring up matters of health.
Yesterday, I was scrolling through social media and Dillon, a good friend/family member had posted about fuel prices. Now, as many of you know - we are dairy farmers, so when we talk about fuel, it's not just a tank of gas here or there to get the kids to school or grab a cup of java. I mean, it IS that...but it's also 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year to run tractors and equipment. It's the daily hauling costs to ship milk. It's the price to transport cattle, have feed delivered, and the list goes on. Anyway - Dillon is in the same business we are, so we "get" one another.
I made a comment on his post that maybe he would be stopping by to look at some horse saddles I have in the barn. We had discussed them last summer, and as typical horse people who also have cows, we always intend to make more time for riding but life seems to get in the way. Anyway - I had originally told him to pop in when he was ready and see if anything I have fits his needs. Yesterday, the joke was we might all be needing saddles so we can get to the grocery store as we won't be able to afford fuel for our cars. It was a joke - clearly hauling cattle and taking kids to school is not easily done with a saddle and single horse. If you'd like to try it, feel free to get back to me about the issues you run into.
My comment was meant as a joke - Dillon and his friends took it that way. For a few moments, we bantered back and forth about how it might be difficult to ride a horse to work and our coffee might spill. We teased about where the carseat goes and if it should go in front of the saddle, behind, or if you should just strap it directly to the horse and forego the saddle completely. We envisioned how many horses it might take to pull a cattle hauling trailer and we pondered the looks on the cows faces (and horses for that matter).
Amidst fears of falling milk prices, concern over rising fuel costs, fear of the future, etc... we were able to laugh. We shared funny thoughts and ideas, and were even able to find some hilarious photos. It felt incredibly good to laugh and forget about all those worries plaguing our days.
I'm going to encourage each of you to find something to make you laugh today. Grab a fun new book or pick up a magazine! Spend time chatting with a toddler; or ask a teenager if anything funny happened at school today! Let yourself relax and laugh and see how amazing you feel when you're done. If that's not enough for you, pop on in and I'll introduce you to one of our kissing cows - that always makes me laugh when they come in with that big wet tongue as I try to navigate to safety only to find another cow lapping at my pants leg!
Still not your bag? Ask one of my kiddos to tell you about the baby goat we nursed back to health - the one who was sleeping in the kitchen! There's never a dull moment here and lucky for me - never a lack of laughter!
As our time together comes to an end, let me ask you:
Do you have a funny story that will make others laugh? Share it as a comment on this post!
Can you recall a time when laughter helped you? Better yet, do you have a funny story about a gift? Share it as a comment on this post!
How are you weathering life? Tell us a little bit about your journey and where you are at? What's going on with you friend? Share it as a comment on this post!
Hugs,
~Crystal
About Today's Author:
Crystal is a foodie, farmer, and friend! She has 6 children and lots of special young people who call her "mom" even if she isn't 'their' mom! She starts each day sipping coffee and milking cows with the love of her life and occasionally ends the day with a glass of wine. Crystal is raising kids and cattle while juggling cleaning jobs, bartending shifts, music gigs, her job as office manger and she escapes reality a few hours each week riding horses and reading books (not simultaneously)! And who knows, she may start blogging again sometime soon: http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/
In the meantime, you can find her posting pics of food, cattle, and more on Instagram and Facebook!
2 comments:
Yes, to laughter. It definitely gets us through the tough times.
Hubby had told me last week his glasses were foggy. They were harder to see through. He surmised the coating was wearing off. Then yesterday he came in to tell me his glasses were as good as new. He cleaned them with the glass cleaner and the little cloth. I asked him what he had been using before. He said dish soap. We had a good laugh over that. He said. "I guess when you use the right product, you can see."
I love that!!!! I’m laughing too now :)
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