Monday, April 5, 2021

Laughter is always the best medicine by Paty Jager


Who doesn't love a good laugh? 

Maybe the Grinch?

One of my favorite things about my husband is his humor and good nature. I laugh or chuckle several times a day over something he says or does. The dogs are also good for a laugh. 

Laughter can lighten a mood, bring joy to a miserable day or moment, and can make one feel better. 

I love scrolling through Facebook and looking at the photos of animals and small children doing funny things. And I love the memes Karen Doctor and Michele Wicker put up on Facebook. I look forward to seeing them every day because I know I will get a chuckle.

And Grandkids! I know every grandparent thinks their grandson or daughter are the most precious, beautiful, and smart. Yeah, mine might be that, but what I love most is their sense of humor! 

My daughter told me about a funny our youngest grandson, who is 4 said the other day. They were both in the tractor, my daughter was disking the field. The grandson was playing on the floor of the tractor when he looked at her and said, "Can I drink beer." Her first thought was, we don't drink beer, I must be listening to too much country music. She asked him to repeat what he said. She though it was the same thing and asked him, "Did you say you want to drink beer?" He laughed and said, "Momma, you funny." So she turned off the radio, slowed the tractor, and asked him to repeat it again. He said, "Are stink beetles nice?" She still doesn't know why she heard what she heard, but we all have had a good laugh out of it.


There are days that all I have to do is look at our donkey, George, and I feel happy. And nothing lightens my mood like climbing on the back of my horse and riding for an hour or two. Even a walk in the morning and spotting the birds that live in the rocks on our ridges makes me smile. 

I enjoy shows and movies with a good dollop of humor. And books! I can read a thriller, but I like it better if there is some humor thrown in. It makes the characters feel more human. That's why I work at getting some humor in every book or story I write. You can have dimensional characters if they don't show all sides of themselves: serious, caring, humorous, and flawed. 

Even the Native American Myths and Legends have humor in the stories. Laughter is a universal balm for everyone. 

So go ahead, laugh at yourself and laugh at the world. There is nothing more healing than laughter! 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 49 novels, 8 novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters.

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photos: Paty Jager

4 comments:

Deb N said...

So true, Paty - humor is a must. Love the story about your daughter and grandson. Who knows what we hear when our mind is on something else? My grandson's have a great sense of humor too. And as they grow ti is so much fun to see how their humor changes and grows.

Judith Ashley said...

Love the story, Paty! And finding the humor, the smile, the joy and laughter in those little things that permeate our day is priceless. I will say that I do not smile or feel joy when I see the squirrels destroying something in my yard multiple times a day. But then they scamper out of sight and I watch as the breeze ruffles through the branches on my tree and creates magical shadows around the yard.

Paty Jager said...

Deb, All of my grandchildren, thankfully, have a wonderful sense of humor. I makes hanging out with them a lot of fun.

Judith, thanks! I can understand the squirrels. It's how we feel about the sage rats that dig holes in our fields and eat the alfalfa. LOL

Maggie Lynch said...

I agree that children are often great fonts of laughter. My eight year old grand niece loves to imitate that commercial where the characters get lower and lower to the music (I think it's for a grocery store talking about low prices). She thinks it is so hilarious, and now every time I see the commercial I laugh too. I remember that program in a program in the 1960s where Art Linkletter would ask kids questions and the answers were invariably funny to adults.

If we don't squelch that creativity, they might grow up laughing. One of my favorite things as a child was learning new jokes to tell my parents. I was reading them off of paper cups, bubblegum wrappers, and sometimes in comic books.

Why I didn't get the comic gene for writing I don't know. But I'm so grateful for all those who do have it.