Although the old cliché sounds corny, laughter really is the best medicine sometimes. Nobody ever died of laughter. In fact, you don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.
I love to laugh although others may not appreciate my loud cackle or the snorting that accompanies it. Sometimes, though, I forget how much I love it and how much I need it. Sometimes, I think we even forget to laugh while caught up with the drama of everyday family life, relationships and work-related stress.
Tonight, I made time for laughter. I laughed so hard I cried. I giggled, I cackled, I snorted, and I had tears streaming down my face for nearly 10 minutes.
It wasn’t some grand joke that started the episode or even an Adam Sandler movie with Rob Schneider and David Spade. My students made me laugh … and laugh … and laugh.
While attending the ACP Summer Journalism Workshops, we ventured to the Mall of America on our night off from sessions. After embarrassing myself playing an Xbox dancing game in the middle of the mall, we decided to visit the Mirror Maze.
Mirrors, I quickly learned, are tricky. The maze was lined with mirrors and we soon learned that images are not always as they appear. But, as entertaining as the maze was, the fun really began once we found the exit and experimented with the “funny mirrors.”
With extended necks and shortened legs, we giggled at our horse teeth, over-exaggerated gums, elongated torsos and limited height. The giggling turned into cackling, then full-blown out-of-breath laughing. People stared, laughed with us and laughed at us.
I laughed hard … harder than I had in the past few months. I laughed so hard it hurt. It was a hurt, though, that I want to endure long after the mirror images leave my brain.
Yes, clichés are corny, but laughter truly is the best medicine. It makes you feel young when life ages you. It takes your mind off the stress that haunts you. And most importantly, it creates a bond between people who care and respect for each other.
Live. Laugh. Love.
Giggle. Cackle. Snort.
– Shannon Philpott
Blog Entry: July 23, 2010
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Shannon Philpott-Sanders 
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