Oh how we laughed...

I was just thinking the other day how it had been a disgustingly long time since I laughed so hard I thought my sides would split.

I think it was several months ago when I had a surreal online conversation with a friend which degenerated in utter weirdness involved web address and Gnus (best not ask), it occured to me that my son and my niece laugh almost the whole day through and I wondered had I really become the ultimate misery guts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not on my way to being Victoria Meldrew just yet, I do laugh on frequent occasions, but its more of a slight chortle than a full belly laugh which is so hard it means, as a relatively new mum, I have to worry about the prospect of mild incontinence.

So it surprised me last night, while putting my son to bed, that I ended up in fits of laughter so hard that I literally had to hold my sides as they were getting so sore.

The reason for my laughter: a simple game with the wee man in which I spat his dummy across the bed. He would lift it, giggle, put it back in my mouth and shout "Dee" which is Josephese for "Again".

Within a very short time all the pair of us had to do was look at each other to collapse in kinks of laughter, with tears of pure joy streaming down both our faces. It felt so good.

It felt good because I was laughing and as a dear friend always says, a belly laugh is better than a good cry any day of the week; and it felt good because I was connecting with my baby. We were sharing a joke, communicating on a real level fo happiness and contentment and joy.

As well as fearing my sides might split, I feared my heart may actually burst with pride and joy.

And, to top it all, I hadn't even taken my happy pill yesterday. This was joy without the aid of an SSRI!


(And even better, I didn't pee myself with the effort either! Yay me!)