It's the day of the New Year's eve, December 31, 2007. The sun is shining and there has been a blanket of snow dropped on our neighbourhood overnight. It's a very pretty morning and I'm quite enjoying the view as I partake of my ritual coffee before my day begins. The house is blissfully empty and I am enjoying the solitude of myself alone in this quaint little house.
My family has taken themselves off to a short trip to Montreal to visit various and sundry friends. As my husband so eloquently calls the travelling troupe, "we are an instant party" and it's true. In they come, out come the laughs, the instruments, the conversations, the stories, the puppies in tow and the troupe ready with food and a favourite beverage or two to liven things up, as if that were even necessary. They're like a party in a box...open and enjoy! I'm happy to be home with my cat who thinks he's a tiger.
I settle into workmode for a few hours when I suddenly realize I can no longer resist the fresh air and sunshine beckoning me outside. Oh, and the lake, of course which will not be ignored on this day. Hopped up for the weather I make my way out and head straight for the lake enjoying the sunshine as I go. It's a short visit to the water today as I'm feeling the need for another shot of caffeine at my local coffee shoppe. The trip was pre-planned and I've packed a great book and my wallet into my backpack prior to leaving the house: just in case.
Luckily the coffee shop special chairs are vacant as I race toward them and plan to settle into a comfy chair for some great reading. I call them special chairs because they're the big, comfy, cozy chairs and there are only four of them in the shoppe. They're always the first to be taken and usually inhabited by people like me who look like they're settling in for a while. (I was)
I have really been enjoying this book, McCarthy's Pub, which I bought for my husband for Christmas. He hasn't had a chance to touch it yet but he will soon. It's a funny book and it's based on a man travelling around Ireland. My husband and I did the same thing many years ago, pk, (pre-kids) and so I'm recognizing a lot of the names and places that he mentions. The way that this man writes is just the way the an Irish person speaks and I'm having fun with the language. In fact I'm enjoying it so much that I am often laughing out loud at something I'm reading.And that's great that a book can make me laugh out loud but it got me wondering about laughing out loud when I was sipping my coffee.
Apparently I was the only person in the shop who was laughing and I was by myself. That's not always a good sign and I was trying to figure out what the other patrons were trying to figure out about me. Eventually I decided I didn't care and continued on with my book. Until: Until I got to a really funny part and I just burst out laughing and I laughed so hard I couldn't stop.
When I was about 11 my best friend Bev slept over at my house on a Saturday night. That meant that we would be going to church on Sunday and my dad would be with us. Have you ever watched eleven year old girls? They giggle: they giggle at absolutely nothing at all and everything they see. Giggling is great and laughter is definitely good for the soul however, when church is involved it's considered bad for the soul. Go figure.
So there we were, sitting in the wooden church pew, trying very hard not to laugh and the harder we tried the more we laughed. Have you ever had that happen? You try to not laugh and you just can't stop? My dad, bless him, tried really hard to discipline us but he was up against an unstoppable foe: we were not going to settle and it got even funnier when my dad joined in. There we were, the three of us, laughing in church. I waited for the thunderbolt to hit me as I walked out of the church.
That's what it was like for me in the coffee shop. I'm laughing so hard that I can't control myself any longer and I had to make a decision. I could stay in my comfy chair with my now cold cappucino laughing like a drunk hyena and really get the other patrons wondering whether to stay or go or I could pack up and get some air in my lungs and read the book at home.
I chose the latter and made my way out to the road, book in bag, still laughing.
Would I do it again? You bet. I felt so much better after that and I'm glad that I didn't give into the feeling that I "shouldn't" be laughing in public alone. I think we should start a movement of solitary laughter. That's a great New Year's resolution isn't it? Forget the weight loss, quitting smoking, getting in shape stuff that falls by the wayside within two months: I'm working on solitary laughter in public places. Now there's a challenge.
You up for it?
Living la vida fearless, Jan