Alive to Laugh

We are back in Blacksburg as of Sunday night! I tumbled out of that over-filled car on Sunday evening, fresh off of the expressway, into a meeting for my Guatemala trip.
We leave on Saturday at 5am.

I am in a strange state of denial mixed with excitement mixed with anxiety. Fortunately, we have a lot of people praying for our trip. I have felt your prayers this week, before I have even left. Thank you.

I got several gifts I loved for Christmas, but one that has been making me smile in these frigid days is the hat I bought myself from Wegmans. I enjoyed so much the day I bought it. It was snowy, cold (though not as cold as today!), we were on our way to feed the chickadees at Mendon Ponds, and everyone in the Wegmans that day was so delightful in that Northern quality of hurry and straightforwardness that, to southerners, would approach rudeness. To me, being home is like playing a game where I know the rules.

I am taking a moment before I go to Guatemala to set an intention. So far, my prayers for the trip have been focused on my remaining calm and present, which is certainly still what I'm hoping for. But I'm going to go further.

My One Word for 2014 was Alive. I wanted to make choices to open up to live, to do things that made me feel alive, as a means of combating anxiety. And, I think the Alive endeavor's done a lot of good. I am in better shape, I am sure of it, than I was was last year. I made this decision to go to Guatemala in part because it seemed like something someone who was Alive would do. But this year I am focusing on what may be an even more effective means of being healthy and alive in the world: laughter. I am making my 2015 word "Laugh." 

If you know me, you know I love to both talk and laugh, and you also know that when I'm at my least healthy, I am anti-social, quiet, and unwilling to laugh. I used to laugh much more than I do now, and knowing what we know about the health benefits of laughter, I am going to try to seek it out. Even the laughter that gives you that giddy, dizzy feeling. Bring it on.

So, during my week in Guatemala, I intend not only to look and listen, but to engage with people and to laugh as often as is socially appropriate. This will be a better means of maintaining mental health than merely willing myself to be calm, I am convinced.

Just a short entry today! Miles is home on his first winter weather day of the year, it's only only his second day "back." This might be a long winter...

Just one cute kid picture in the rations today. Here are the kids, absorbing and spreading germs on creepy Uncle Ronald's lap, on our way home last week:

Adele looks so troubled, right?

Here we go, 2015!

Timehop reminded me that, one year ago today, I posted about receiving my Hogwarts Letter from Melissa. That day was such a bolt of joy into my world, and it reminded me how transformative it can be to suddenly have cause to rejoice about something. 

This year it is also bitterly cold, and I am ALSO wearing the same sweater. Has to mean something. 

I'm trying to carry this same spirit of joy with me, to Guatemala, and back, to the beginning of a new semester, at the beginning of a cold winter. Come with me.