No. Stop. Don’t. Those are the words I hear sometimes and ignore.

You know why?

Because I can’t think of something that makes me happier than hearing the authentic laughter of a kid. In this case, mine, Elle.

This morning she woke up and came into my bed like she usually does. We started a tickle fight. And by we, I mean Elle. As a ten year old she loves to test me. “Mom, does it tickle when I do this?” as she lightly scratches the palm of my hand or reaches for under my neck.

And of course, I’m totally grateful to be stronger. Because I hate to be tickled. But even the few tickles she got in were totally worth it. I mean, hearing that guttural laugh reminds me of being a kid. Totally carefree and happy.

Elle even managed to get a picture of my mouth smile during our tickle fest. Well she got two shots but the first one was of my boob (“covered” by a nightie) and that sure as hell isn’t getting posted.

So here’s to today. I’m going to act like a kid and laugh authentically…hard and from the gut.

Tags: fun, laughs

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 8th, 2009 at 9:30 am and is filed under Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.