It’s that time of year again. 2013 is drawing to a close and people are contemplating the clean slate they are about to be handed. Last year I shared with you my plan to stop spending so much time on the computer. I realized how much time it was taking up that could be spent doing so many more worthwhile things, most importantly spending time with my family. I promised to keep you updated on my resolution, but after one update you didn’t hear another word about it. Well, I’m sorry to say that I didn’t keep up with my plan very well. 2013 is almost over and I still spend far too much time online. I am aware of it, I am working on it, and I will continue to work on it.
So this year, keenly aware of my failure, I hadn’t given much thought to New Year’s resolutions… until the other day. Eli and I sat on the window seat at my in-laws’ house and played the game where you hide something in one fist and the other person guesses which hand holds the item. The twist was that I had dropped the item behind me and each hand was empty. Eli guessed time after time, each time revealing an empty palm. As time went on, I wouldn’t even put my hands behind my back to ‘swap’ the imaginary item before holding them out to him again, but he was oblivious, giggling and smacking the top of my fist, over and over. And he wasn’t the only one giggling. By the end of the game we were both practically in tears, not because it was even that funny of a joke, but because we were just having fun together.
That was when it hit me: How often do I laugh like that? I could specifically remember the time before. It was Thanksgiving day at my parents’ house. All the girls in the family were cracking up about one of those awkward family photos we had found. Then my cousin and I systematically swiped everyone’s smartphone and changed their Facebook status to something harmless, yet slightly embarrassing. Was it juvenile? Sure. But is behaving like a kid every now and again such a bad thing? At what point do we start taking life so seriously that we stop having fun?
The fact that I could look back and specifically remember the last time I’d had a good laugh was telling. Clearly I don’t do it enough. So this year my New Year’s resolution is simple. I want to laugh more. I want to stop thinking I need to be so ‘grown-up’ all the time. I want to ignore the people who might look at me and roll their eyes, and ignore the people who don’t share my particular style of humor, and I want to laugh. Little giggles; big guffaws; the silent ones that are accompanied by tears rolling down your cheeks; the ones that catch you by surprise and shoot snot out your nose. However it happens, I want to LAUGH! I have a feeling that if I keep this simple resolution, I’ll find benefits in a lot of the areas people usually make resolutions regarding: being kinder, improving relationships, looking younger, being healthier… hey, maybe this will be the start of a new dieting craze. It sure beats cutting out carbs.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOMqqI-kzHY]