The Summer of Laughter

posted 5th May 2010    Written by: Heather Rae    CATEGORY: Heather Rae, Season 2

I’m having a case of summertime nostalgia.  Thinking back to high school, middle school, grade school (pretty much anytime pre-adulthood), I picture the random trouble I would get into with my friends.

Like the time we put dish soap in the fountain at the center of town, thrilled by the overflow of suds on the sidewalk.  Or the summer I walked with my best friend two miles every day to get Thrifty’s Ice Cream, a double scoop of chocolate brownie and chocolate malted crunch.  Or when I worked at McDonald’s and got into a shake fight with my co-workers (our boss probably does not look back on that incident with such fondness).

I long for summers that are free-spirited and playful, for the days when the world was mine for the taking and responsibility meant doing the dishes before mom got home.  I miss that.

Obviously, I’m past the point of getting yelled at for not finishing my chores for the day.  But what about the rest?  What about all that play and laughter?

Here’s my plan for this summer:  I’m going to reintroduce the magic of summer to my adult life.

You might think a goal like this is nearly impossible.  Without three months off from school and friends available to hang out at any given moment, how exactly do I plan to recreate those lazy days of summer?

Well, I’m not exactly sure.  But I’ve put some thought into it, and this is what I have figured out.

All these memories have one thing in common – laughter.  No matter what we were doing or where we were, we were always laughing.  We laughed at everything, funny or not.  We laughed until we cried, until Dr. Pepper ran out our noses, until our breath was all but lost. We laughed for the sake of laughing.  And then we laughed some more.

The average adult laughs ten to fifteen times a day.  That sounds pretty good, right?  Well, unless you compare that to the three hundred times a day the average kid laughs.  Makes that adult number look pretty pathetic.  Perhaps we take ourselves too seriously.  We get older, and suddenly we laugh less and stress more.

Kids have this amazing way of focusing on what really matters in life.  They care about building friendships.  They care about having fun.

So that’s what I’m going to do during this summer of laughter.  I’m going to focus on the friendships I already have.  I’m going to keep in touch more often – send cards in the mail for no reason, plan weekend getaways with the girls and get together for Sunday brunches.  I’m going to focus on developing new friendships.  I’ll find a writing critique group, take a new dance class (fire dancing, anyone?) and get a hiking partner.

I want to laugh.  Every day. Like at least a hundred times.  Who knows, maybe even three hundred.  Why?  Because it’s fun.  Laughter is the stuff memories are made of.  Laughter is the stuff magical summers are made of.

What about you?

What do you plan to do this summer that will make you feel carefree, happy or just plain goofy?  What summertime plans have got you feeling giddy?

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Comments (13)

13 Responses to “The Summer of Laughter”

  • amysjoy Says:
    May 5th, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    I love this idea. I've been so … SIGH with my daily life lately, that making an effort to have fun and enjoy the summer will be good for me. I want to explore and do new things and relax and have fun and go crazy!

  • Katie [blogs] Says:
    May 5th, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    This is amazing. As are you.

    Here's to laughing.

  • amysjoy Says:
    May 5th, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    I love this idea. I've been so … SIGH with my daily life lately, that making an effort to have fun and enjoy the summer will be good for me. I want to explore and do new things and relax and have fun and go crazy!

  • Katie [blogs] Says:
    May 5th, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    This is amazing. As are you.

    Here's to laughing.

  • Sally JPA Says:
    May 5th, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    I love this. Great idea and great post. :D

  • Christy Says:
    May 5th, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    Can I sign up for the fire dancing and hiking? :)

  • Heather Rae Says:
    May 6th, 2010 at 6:47 pm

    Absolutely! But just remember, once you sign in for the fire dancing, I'm going to hold you to it!! :)

  • Heather Rae Says:
    May 6th, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    You ladies are SO awesome! I love that you are all up for a summer full of laughter and doing all sorts of fun things. Here's to making this summer full of fabulous memories and lots and lots of FUN!!

  • Taylor Says:
    May 6th, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    I love this!!! I want to stop taking everything so seriously this summer.

  • Emma Says:
    May 6th, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    Umm you are GOING to have to keep us updated on Fire dancing. Although I feel like laughing would be dangerous in that situation ;)

  • Lorrin Says:
    May 6th, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    Wonderful wonderful idea!! Cards in the mail for no reason are definitely on my list! And hiking, kayaking and tons of outdoorsy stuff… and OF COURSE laughter =)

  • Heather Rae Says:
    May 6th, 2010 at 6:47 pm

    Absolutely! But just remember, once you sign in for the fire dancing, I'm going to hold you to it!! :)

  • Tiffany Says:
    May 6th, 2010 at 8:53 pm

    I love this! Several friends and I have discussed that fact that college feels like such an amazing time and how we'd all like to go back to that period in our lives, but not because of classes but because of the friendship and fun. I'm not sure why that has to stop once graduation happens or because you "grow up".

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