Make 'Em Laugh

At work, I am at the helm of a project that is unfolding according to the very letter of Murphy's Law. It's been delayed in every aspect, forgotten by staff and vendors, held up and tangled in every way possible. On Friday, the sheer exhaustion of it all left me in tears - not to mention the threat of being late to Lauren & Jason's wedding. All this to say, there hasn't been much to crack a smile about at work the last couple of days. It doesn't help that two of our resident Masters of Sarcasm are away from the office.

It's a gentle reminder of one of those things I've been tossing around in my head lately - a sort of odd realization about some of my favorite people in the world. They make me laugh. It's such a simple thing, really. But the people whose company I enjoy most incite me to laughter over all the things that moments before seemed so bleak. For me, humor is necessary and comforting. It is that thing I reach for when all else fails - as it often does.

Perhaps my love of humor was bred into me by my brother, an innate comedian who to this day could easily command a room full of strangers with ease and have them in stitches without breaking a sweat. And for a long time, I was his most attentive audience. I don't at all possess his comic timing, but I learned a thing or two along the way - if nothing else, an abiding love for side-splitting laughter.

As I've gotten older, that group I consider close friends has grown and changed, I find that those I turn to most often are the ones who can make me laugh. Like today, Kim called me while walking the dog, and we laughed over the difficulty of collecting dog poop amongst the fallen leaves - dashed off a quick rhyme about it to the tune of "Sexy Back." Her sense of humor is legendary, and she never fails to give me a chuckle even on the worst of days. I can remember in grad school - some of those less-than-wonderful times - when I'd be crying my eyes out and yet laughing at some wit she interjected to cheer me. And on Sunday, at the coffehouse, on perhaps the dreariest day we've had lately, Tom still managed to break me into hearty laughter as we planned our blockbuster best-sellers.

Even in Singin' in the Rain, one of my favorite movies, Gene Kelly has his debonair good looks and neat softshoe, but it's Donald O'Connor who truly steals my heart with his furious slapstick "Make 'Em Laugh."

All those cliches - all in good humor, laughter is the best medicine - are borne from a grain of truth. It is the thing that makes me feel most profoundly better at any given moment. To be provoked into earnest laughter is such a wonderful feeling. I remember reading in a college psych class that children laugh anywhere from 50 to 75 times a day. The average adult? Less than 15.

And maybe that's one thing I've loved about the blog. As Pen & M suggested, the lure of comments are sometimes to say "Aren't I fancy, too?" But they also are a spectacular and varied display of each person's sense of humor, and even as I'm writing something to post, I'm anticipating all of the hilarious commentary that might ensue. Make 'em laugh, indeed.