laughter.

Yesterday there was a knock on our door.  I live in a rural area that doesn't see many random people walking by, well, ever.  So an unexpected knock on the door freezes the whole house in anticipation.  There are wide-eyed stares and expressions among us all that read, "Who's here?"  In all reality, the unexpected knock is one of three people: the mail person, the UPS person, or our dear friend who works down the hill a few hundred feet.  Today it was the mail person knocking.  I know, big news from a small town.

I opened the door and saw a small package of oranges in our mail person's hands. I fully expected her to say something exciting and expected like, "Here," or "A package."  But instead she said, "I'm here for a chicken-sled adventure!"  It was so random and unexpected, and when I recalled the sign that was forgotten but still hanging on my front porch, left over from our guests this past weekend, I started laughing.  It was just a tiny moment, a hearty laugh between strangers over something absurd.

It was a small moment, maybe nothing worth writing about, but I write here to appreciate the small, ordinary moments of life.  Because those small, ordinary moments are actually quite extraordinary when we give them our full attention.  We never know our impact on one another as we interact daily with the people around us.  They say laughter is the best medicine, and that simple exchange of laughter was actually an unexpected gift.  Things have been heavy here.  We are in the midst of a huge transition as a family, and as we navigate through the unknown, it is a gift to remember to laugh.  

"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane."

-Robert Frost