HUG Corner: Thought for the Week 2/5/18
February 5, 2018
Healing After Loss (Martha Whitmore Hickman)
“That day is lost on which one has not laughed.”
– French Proverb
“Even now – maybe especially now – we need humor in our lives. A little comic relief can relieve the tension, save the day.
I remember sitting with my sisters and brother in a small waiting room as my father slept away closer to death, and my brother regaled us with a comic conversation he had overheard. He not only lightened the moment, but acknowledged the strength of the bond among us that, in this extremity, we could trust one another enough to laugh.
I remember a cake brought to our family in the aftermath of a death – a cake so dense that it was characterized by our scientist son as a “neutron star cake.” It was eaten with affection and gratitude – a gratitude not only for the cake, but also for the moment of relief and levity it provided.
I remember a small nephew giving an unwittingly hilarious imitation of a bereaved uncle, groaning as he wobbled to his feet.
Disrespectful? Unkind? No. They were blessed moments of saving laughter in a grief-laden day.
Hurray for laughter. Lead me to it!”