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Oct 24, 2008

Laughter

I've been attending conferences the last couple of days. At the end of one conference (for preschool educators) was a session where the presenter was so funny, we laughed and laughed! Her topic was about Relieving Stress. Did you know that the average child laughs 200 to 400 times a day and the average adult laughs 12 to 14 times per day? The second conference tonight for deaf educators, the keynote speaker was talking about humor and it's importance.

Here are some positive effects of laughter.
  • reduce stress
  • boost immune system
  • elevate mood
  • connect you to others
  • protect the heart
  • foster instant relaxation

Between both speakers today, I feel like I upped my quotient of laughter! Since I'm fighting off a cold, I surely appreciate the fact it will help boost my immune system! :)

Here some of the funny anecdotes I heard today:

  • A single teacher of a 6th grade class had students who were very curious about her. They wanted to know her first name, how old she was and on and on. She would never tell them. One day while she was in the faculty room, they got into her purse in her drawer and found her driver's license. When she came back to the room, they were laughing and laughing. "We know your first name!" then told her what it was. "We know how old you are!", chimed another. Then yet another said, and we know that you got an "F" and flunked sex!"
  • Our presenter this afternoon was stopped for speeding, through a construction zone. She was let off with a very stern warning. The policeman told her, I don't ever want to see you speeding through this construction zone again. If you do it again, I will give you a ticket then. It was all she could do to stop herself from say, "When's your shift?"
  • Then there was a student of our keynote speaker tonight who was listening to a oral report from one of his students about "Abraham Lincoln". He said, "He was born in a log cabin he built with his own hands!". He was just laughing so hard, and none of his students could get why that was so funny.
  • Two missionaries knocked on a door here in Utah, in fact I think it might have been in the Provo area. The lady was so rude and told them to get out of her yard and off her property. As they were leaving, one missionary said, "There's another door behind the house". His companion explained it was the back door, and that they needed to get off the property. His companion said, 'It could be another apartment, as sometimes there is a separate entry for other apartments in a house". So they went around back and knocked. The door was opened by the same woman, who stared at them just dumbstruck that they were there. Before she could say anything, one missionary was quick enough to come out with this quip, "We're so glad we got you, you should have met the lady at the last door we knocked on!" The woman actually started to laugh and laugh after that remark!
  • I thought I'd add another anecdote of something that really happened to me. I don't know if I've written this down in my blog before, I might have. So apologies if I've written it down before. A colleague of mine, back when I was in business (and before my implants), young family came to visit him at work. When introducing me to his little boy, he told him that he had to look at me all the time, since I couldn't hear and had to read his lips. With a puzzled expression his little boy said, "But Daddy, there are no words on my lips."

There were a ton more, but I'm finding it harder to write them down! Find the joy, find the laughter, find the humor, and have a joyful day!

4 comments:

Staci said...

Ann, those were funny! Thanks for sharing those stories. I love to laugh and it is the best thing for your health!! And I am glad I am married to Josh cuz he makes me laugh all the time. Even at the most stupidest things. Good blog post!!

Anonymous said...

I can mostly always tell when I am getting stressed out - it is when I am unable to laugh at things or myself. Everything is serious and I'm unable to see beyond myself and the current situation. I can make it best when I am able to lighten up. At times it is hard to do but always worth it, not only for my well being but for those around me.

Cami said...

That was hilarious....I had no idead you had "implants???" Oh yeah...you mean cochlear!!!

Seriously, I had to stop and think!

Ann said...

Hahaha! I'm so immersed in my type of "implant" (yep, cochlear!), that I hardly realized there was another type of implant that could have come to mind! :)