Entry #2

I went to a program today that's called "The Incredible Years". I love it. They give you such great ideas on parenting and how to help you come through stressful situations. There are 2 main components that I took out of today's class...
1. Happy mommy = Happy family
Very true considering I felt horribly unwell yesterday and you could notice the effect of my energy in my children.
2. Play with your children individually, if possible, for 10 min with out asking them any questions. Holy man that was truly difficult. It is almost like improvising while playing. Made me laugh every time I asked a question. I failed at that but I will be persistent and succeed!

Tonight was great! I went to a laughing club tonight for the first time and brought my 16 yr old brother with me. He didn't have a choice. I had to pick him up at his dance class and I didn't have time to drop him off. It was a wonderful, surprising bonding experience with him. I think very few extended family have actually seen this teenager smile. First of all, when he joined dance with his friends our family was flabbergasted. In a positive way. They just never thought this teenage boy would do that.
So in this laughter class I kept thinking, "I can't believe I am standing here with these people and laughing at nothing but everything. This is so frickin' Hilarious!" Which obviously made me laugh even more. The instructor of the group explained how laughter can help depression, stress, and health problems even some cancers. In this explanation I was sucked into this crazy laughing group. You look people in the eye and laugh. My brother embraced me while laughing hysterically and I was elated! That hug made my day because it was so unexpected. In the end we all layed on our mats in a circle with our heads in the centre and we laughed and laughed and laughed. Ironically, in that laughter I wanted to cry. These feeling I've been having and storing away inside me, particularily of my close friend who has stage 4 cancer and the everyday stressors of 4 children, were being discharged through laughter. It was exhilarating and emotionally alleviating to release these feelings. Feelings of sadness, frustrastion and tension. When we were done we stood up and I felt like I could float. My chest didn't seem weighed down and I was energized! I love this group I am definately attending more sessions. My brother, with a smile on his face, said he'd come to these laughter groups with me too.

:-)