“Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart”

– Mort Walker

Summer is no longer drifting along.  It’s flying away at the speed of light!  This evening will begin the Labor Day weekend; and for those of us with school-age children, it will be the last opportunity for summer revelry before Fall responsibilities change the rhythm of our lives.  There will be many picnics and family gatherings, trips to favorite parks, and hikes along wooded trails.  When Monday comes, we will say goodbye to summer; but before that, the weekend will be a great time to laugh and play and clean the cobwebs out of the corners of our hearts.

What better way can there be to honor the carefree days of summer than to celebrate with vigor and share the laughter of friends?  As I reflect on past celebrations, I always seem to find myself  lost in the memory of the antics of children — so if you have no children in hour household any more, I would highly recommend putting yourself in a place where they will be part of the day.  People watching is always fun; kid watching is hilarious!

For us, Labor Day weekend always includes a trip to upstate New York for my father-in-law’s birthday.  Tomorrow he will be 88 years old.  His children have long been grown; and although my sweet Mark thinks he is hilarious, I am honest when I tell you that he’s really not that funny any more.  I’m sure his Dad has stories to tell, though; and we will probably hear a couple at the party.  What strikes me is that our children — his grandchildren — now are all grown, too.  This year it will be the great-grands who will frolic and play with the uninhibited exuberance of youth and unleash the absurd, funny, laughter-producing entertainment that will brush away anything that might qualify as serious from the corners of our hearts.

What did that old song say?  ”doing things we used to do, they think are new…”  Part of what makes us laugh when we watch the children is the memory of doing the same silly things when we had less cobwebs in our corners.  So watch, laugh, and — if you feel really courageous — run through that sprinkler or do a huge cannonball into the water.  Send your cobwebs flying and let your spirit soar!  Laugh!