The Ride
Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad. ~Norm Papernick
I convinced my out of town friends to ride on the newest roller coaster with me a few weeks ago. There were five of us who committed to the adventure. As we waited in line for the ride, everyone's true feelings came out about what we were about to do. Two in our party were a little hesitant to ride the roller coaster. All of us remembered fondly the days when we didn't think through such an action but would just do it.
It's funny when you become a parent. There comes a time when you either designate yourself as the riding parent or the waiting one. The riding parent runs off into the great unknown with the tall enough, brave enough, excited enough child while the waiting parent sits with the bags and the stroller and the not tall enough, not brave enough, dejected child. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but I became the waiting parent.
The other two in the party realized that they had become the waiting parent. With children and spouses nowhere in sight, we were free to experience the ride like we did when we were kids. Run through the gates, weave through the maze, concentrating only on our own emotions of it all. It was exhilarating.
As we queued up in our respective lines, three in one line and two in another, the friend next to me warned, "I giggle when I'm nervous". The visiting Scottish man in our line took note of this. As we pulled down the harnesses and placed our loose items in a bin, my friend warned again, "I seriously giggle when I'm nervous". The Scottish man looked at me with worry. As the ride inverted us onto our bellies and prepared to take off, the giggling started. The Scottish man looked dismayed.
The ride took off, up the incline, around the bend, and up and down loops. The giggling was tremendous. Halfway through the ride, my Scottish neighbor asked if I thought my friend would ever stop giggling and we both decided that wasn't a possibility. The loops and the curves were accentuated by my friends giggles and an occasional, "I can't see through my hair". Somewhere after backward loop number two,our whole row broke into laughter. As we took our last twist, the Scottish man put to words what I was thinking, "That is really what life is about, isn't it? The true laughter of joy, the time with friends." When we pulled into the rides end, my stomach muscles and my face muscles ached. My friends wanted to ride the roller coaster again.We left the ride feeling 20 years younger, with tears of laughter running down our face.
There is no greater blessing than the company of friends.
Life is an incredible ride, one that definitely deserves to be shared!
I convinced my out of town friends to ride on the newest roller coaster with me a few weeks ago. There were five of us who committed to the adventure. As we waited in line for the ride, everyone's true feelings came out about what we were about to do. Two in our party were a little hesitant to ride the roller coaster. All of us remembered fondly the days when we didn't think through such an action but would just do it.
It's funny when you become a parent. There comes a time when you either designate yourself as the riding parent or the waiting one. The riding parent runs off into the great unknown with the tall enough, brave enough, excited enough child while the waiting parent sits with the bags and the stroller and the not tall enough, not brave enough, dejected child. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but I became the waiting parent.
The other two in the party realized that they had become the waiting parent. With children and spouses nowhere in sight, we were free to experience the ride like we did when we were kids. Run through the gates, weave through the maze, concentrating only on our own emotions of it all. It was exhilarating.
As we queued up in our respective lines, three in one line and two in another, the friend next to me warned, "I giggle when I'm nervous". The visiting Scottish man in our line took note of this. As we pulled down the harnesses and placed our loose items in a bin, my friend warned again, "I seriously giggle when I'm nervous". The Scottish man looked at me with worry. As the ride inverted us onto our bellies and prepared to take off, the giggling started. The Scottish man looked dismayed.
The ride took off, up the incline, around the bend, and up and down loops. The giggling was tremendous. Halfway through the ride, my Scottish neighbor asked if I thought my friend would ever stop giggling and we both decided that wasn't a possibility. The loops and the curves were accentuated by my friends giggles and an occasional, "I can't see through my hair". Somewhere after backward loop number two,our whole row broke into laughter. As we took our last twist, the Scottish man put to words what I was thinking, "That is really what life is about, isn't it? The true laughter of joy, the time with friends." When we pulled into the rides end, my stomach muscles and my face muscles ached. My friends wanted to ride the roller coaster again.We left the ride feeling 20 years younger, with tears of laughter running down our face.
There is no greater blessing than the company of friends.
Life is an incredible ride, one that definitely deserves to be shared!
I was just doing this same thing with a friend last week! What a ride....what great therapy the perpetual giggle can be.
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