I was blessed to have been born into a family that understood the value of continually practicing laughter.

Even during the dark or sad times we always allowed laughter to be a constant companion.

Some of my all-time favorite memories Our times spent with my maternal grandmother, Donna Clary Barmes. Grandma was the ultimate laugher and the ultimate instigator of laughing, especially when we oughtn’t be laughing.

Church services were always our most wretched times trying to stifle our laughter. Most often, I sat between my grandparents, even well into my college years when I was home. If the minister said something that tickled either my grandmother or myself, the torture began. We knew that Grandpa Leroy would be wholly disapproving of our behavior which made it even more difficult, and even funnier to battle.

I don’t know how many times she and I sat with our chins pressed to our chests, biting our lips, and fighting with every ounce of strength within us to suppress a potential burst of laughter.

Sometimes, my grandmother would just step out of the given stricture of behavior, turn and look at me with crossed eyes. Naturally she would not get the disapproving look from my grandfather, but I would.

Grandma Donna is no longer with us, but her spirit, especially the laughter she enforced, is ever present in my day.

Thank you for the laughs!