20 Days of Gratitude: Day 9

From November 6 until Thanksgiving, I'll be posting everyday, talking about someone or something I'm grateful for. I invite you to participate along with me. If you have a blog and will be participating, send me the link and I'll link back here. If you don't have a blog and there is a blessing you want to talk about, email me and I'll post it along with my daily blessing. I can even post it anonymously, if you'd prefer. There's something very powerful about focusing on what's right in our lives, and I intend to live this way, walking on the path of gratitude.

Day Nine:

I've heard that children laugh about 400 times a day, while most adults laugh only 17 times a day.  What an amazing difference that is!  And after spending nearly 2 hours this morning in the nursery with 6 children under the age of 3, I can verify that they do, in fact, laugh much more often than I do!  But today was a day when I laughed.  Something funny happened at the grocery store and I couldn't stop giggling about it.  In fact, sitting here, hours later, I still find myself giggling when I think of it.  It wasn't a belly laugh, but it was enough of a giggle to set things right again. 

My favorite laughs are the ones that end up being uncontrollable; your sides hurt as you gasp for air, tears roll down your face and eventually you forget what you were laughing about in the first place.  Those are the best kinds of laughs, but I try not to take for granted even the little giggles that make that grin spread across my face and contribute to the growing number of laugh lines and crow's feet around my eyes. 

I have met people that made me wonder if they ever laugh, people who I wonder what series of circumstances resulted in their permanent scowl, what stole their smile and joy.  It makes me sad to think about it, to think that life has been so hard for them that they find no enjoyment anywhere they look.  In my own life, I feel like there is so much to be grateful for, so many little gifts to be unwrapped each moment and they often cause me to smile.  But a real laugh?  Sometimes I hold it in, for whatever reason.  Next time, I think I'll give in and enjoy it. What makes you smile?  What makes you laugh?  If you can't think of anything, watch this video and hopefully you'll at least crack a smile.  :)