Laughter

Last week was a "good" week. That means that I'm having a relatively normal week free of most of the side effects of the chemo meds.
(I am refusing to type chemo"therapy". There is no "therapy" to chemo; its basically poison.)

On a good week I try to catch up to household chores, bookkeeping, sorting, organizing, thinking and do some fun things like painting, crafts, and go out to do something that is outside this house.

Last week on my "good" week I encouraged my family to take me to the Fair. Ok, well lets be honest here and say that I did cry a little and used the "take the sick girl where she wants to go" card. My husband is not so keen on the Fair and my son was only eager to go once I said he could invite a friend. Whatever works. I was desperate to go see some animals, especially piggies and eat Fair food.

It was the best time ever. I spent so much of it laughing. It was the perfect way to spend a day that I felt good in!

Laughing makes me forget.

We went to a magic show. I laughed at the kids watching with huge eyeballs and smiles. Nothing cuter than watching kids amazed by slight of hand. And the poor magician was battling the heat and a stiff breeze and even he was pleased by being rewarded by the audiences pleasure. More smiles.

Then the Turkey Races. Oh lordy this was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Young turkeys let loose from a pen to chase a remote controlled truck full of turkey feed. Of course the music and announcing and the audiance interraction made it the most hilarious show ever. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I must've taken 50 pictures. Then they had a big huge ol Tom Turkey just ready for the butcher block come strutting out and make a loop round the pen and it just made everyone bust up laughing.

Then we got some big polish sausage and Italian sausage sandwiches and laughed at ourselves with the grease dripping chinny chin chins Then the napkins started blowing all over and we tried to rescue them but our fingers were sticky from funnel cake and we ended up chortling and laughing over that too.

My son got picked to be in one of the shows on the free stage and we laughed at his antics up on stage for another hour and then laughed more at the dvd we bought of the experience.

We laughed all day.

Then at the end of the day, just before going home we finally made it to the Pig Barn. Here at last were my piggies!! I just love pigs! I had a pet pig when I was a teen. Rescued from the auction house. It was a runt and I had to feed it with an eye dropper til she got strong. I named her Gertrude. I used to take her for walks. Honest to God I did!. I loved that pig. Well.....til she got big and grumpy and tried to bite me once. But thats what happens sometimes when ol girls get big and fat and lazy. They get grouchy about it. heh.

But what was special about this time in the Pig Barn is we got to see NEWBORN piggies just freshly born. It was so sweet and what a special end to the day to see those wee piggies just fresh from the mamma stumbling around making their way through the fresh shavings. Just too sweet!

I felt extra good the whole next day. I was just full of joy and felt better than I had in a long time.

I'd say laughter IS the BEST medicine!!

Do it again Mama! Do it again!

There is nothing more joyous about having children than when you set their eyes alight with wonder. Like when they are infants and you play peek a boo and they giggle and laugh to see you disappear and then appear. Just that simple act of play.
Then when they are one and you show them how to blow into a straw instead of sucking and you make bubbles overflow and chocolate milk bubbles go all over the table.
When children shout "Do it again Mama! Do it again! all kinds of pride and love and zeal for the simple joys of life bubble up inside our hearts and then we want to show them more and more and more.

When a child becomes a middle schooler they become jaded and the world only revolves around themselves and their raging prepubescent hormones and middle school is a war zone of obnoxious cliques and social stereotypical tiers of a tweenie kingdom. Nothing lights up their eyes unless they get something they covet to make themselves feel "cool" even if only in their head.

Then they become teens and they no longer want to do ANYthing associate with kiddie fun.

Unless you bust them doing something they really miss doing like taking the couch pillows and race down the stairs like they are tobaggans.
Or when you see their gleeful face as they scoop up sand at the beach to make the "little cousins" happy by making them a sand castle.

So this past Sunday I had the most joyous little dejavu moment with my son when Saturday grocery shopping had him begging for storebought pastries. You know the kind. They look so pretty with their glazed icing and their jelly filled centers. When you eat them tho they somehow taste of their cardboard home? I said that I thought they were a waste and did he really want to pay $4.99 for cardboard sugar. He really really did. I said "But I know how to make REAL cinnamon rolls, why should you eat these?" and he said "YOU DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO???" and I said "Yes , have I never made you any?" and then I realized; Oh my God, I havent made so many food things that bring joy to families that my Mom used to make us. Life is such a hurly burly rush and all about nonfat and sugar free and eat healthy that I make salad and veggie and protein meals and no FUN food! No sugar laden gooey treats. Like . Like. Like popcorn balls.
My mom always made popcorn balls!!! Or Rice cripy treats or any of that stuff.

So I got the ingrediants that very day and Sunday woke up and made cinnamon rolls.

He watched that pan of rolls rising like a hawk, kept lifting the towel to peek. Giggled when I slapped his hand from trying to get a finger of cinnamon butter. It was GLEEFUL!

His eyes lit up when I turned over the pan and showed off the bottom that was now the top of brown sugar/butter topping and he ate 4 right in one sitting. FOUR!

My heart is STILL swelled up with the joy of that Sunday morning wonderous time. His eyes were saying "Do it again Mama! Do it again!"

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And that afternoon in infectious joy he called me to come learn how to play Rock Band. Oh my Oh my I LOVE ROCK BAND. I sing like a horror chic and my character is a bad ass and I am having so much fun with our band touring and singing. I can drum and sing but am a miserable embarrassment on guitar.
But my heart is so full and I am enjoying every single moment with my son as he trudges the line between being a cool teen and letting some family fun capture his heart.

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Ok I need some advice: he wants to go back "out" with the girlfriend we dont approve of. Talking and texting like a fiend. We have cojoled, explained, pleaded, and now last night his dad blew up. He asked to go to the movie with "friends" and we said "what friends" and he shrugged "you know, just some friends" and then we demanded WHO? and he named the girl and HER friends. His dad blew up and was saying "why do you insist to hang around this bad girl yadda yadda yadda" and the conversation grew long and HIS CELL PHONE RANG and we all looked at the clock and it was midnight and it was this particular girl.
WHAT GOOD GIRL CALLS A BOY AT MIDNIGHT???
That is 13 yrs old?
So his Dad went ballistic and said he could NEVER go to the movies if she was any where NEAR the theatre and on and on.
Now: I KNOW that is not the right tactic: Demanding no contact since she is aggressive and will sneak, she has before.
But HOW how how do we make him see she is BAD news?
ugh!!! ANy suggestions from your past experience?????