When my husband and I turned our home into an insane asylum (we cared for over 300 troubled teenagers, 6 at a time, each needing short-term foster care),  this was our Thursday night tradition:

If you don’t keep laughing, you can’t stay strong.

Actually,  there were two traditions. The first tradition applied every night – everyone had to come to the dinner table . You didn’t have to eat, but you had to stay quietly in your seat until everyone else had finished eating.

The second tradition: Thursday night was laugh night. Every one had to contribute something to laugh about.  Two rules: No ethnic jokes but Martian jokes aloud. No dirty words.  You could pass and some nights only David and I told jokes.

The incentive to get the kids participating?  David had the well-worn and very long shaggy dog joke about a 800 pound gorilla;  he would tell if all the foster kids didn’t come with something. It was a groaner and if you’d heard it once you might prefer deafness to hearing it again.

EMOTIONAL FITNESS THOUGHTS TIP

Tip one: Laughter boosts not just your emotional fitness, but your physical fitness as well.  Norman Cousins claims to have cured a mystery illness by adding lots of laughter to his life.  Research supports his claims.  So add laughter to your life.

Tip two: Laugh whether you feel like it or not. Down in the dumps? Try a Laughing Yoga Exercise.  Here’s one: ten minutes leading to a happier you.

STAY STRONG

In addition to laughing more,  remember  what matters; be with Beauty and practice kindness finding common ground makes solutions possible and solutions matter more than blaming and complaining.

Katherine

P.S.

This post inspired by a Word Press Daily Prompt: Time After Time: Traditions: we’ve all got ’em. Describe one of yours.  I did so above.

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