Today I laughed…and laughed…and laughed.  First it was with the table of troublemakers in my EMAP class (I am out at the National Emergency Training Center this week accomplishing a number of things – including learning more about the Emergency Management Accreditation Program).  The folks at my table were fun and funny – who knew the topic of accreditation could be so fun?? 

From there I had the privilege to visit with my dear friend Barbara and my newer pal Shannon – and OMG did we laugh.  We laughed until I snorted and it was divine.  There really is nothing better for the soul than time laughing with friends.

I could blog for three weeks about the topics that came up in that conversation (indeed, perhaps I will), but tonight I just want to share one little snippet from our conversation that evidences how darn quick Barbara’s humor is.

Barbara and I were commiserating about how many different face lotions we have and I was commenting on how sad it was that my fountain of youth facial lotion is called, "When Hope Is Not Enough."   Barbara pointed out that at least my "When Hope Is Not Enough" isn’t a body wash – that would be really bad!  We laughed a good while about that.  Discussions of aging with Barbara are an opportunity to laugh about the funny things that happen as we age.  There is nothing to complain about – just observations about the humor in life. 

I have to tell you, with all the laughter I shared with Barbara and Shannon today, I felt a lot younger when I left Barbara’s office than when I went in.  Perhaps the fountain of youth doesn’t come in a bottle marked, "When Hope Is Not Enough" at all…perhaps it lies in those moments we share laughter about the absurdities and inevitabilities of life.  I like that.  It is so very wabi sabi.

Day two hundred and fifty-four of the new forty – obla di obla da

CC