If we were to list characteristics of any family gathering, one defining tradition would be that of a good, long, sometimes loud, and always a hoot, laugh. It was usually proceeded by some story, comment, or just looking at each other with the look of "I know a secret". Remember Mother laughing until she cried?
When Ann lived in Olympia, there was an ailing lady in her ward, that requested to hear her laugh. She said it would make her feel better.
In this case, Paul Tanner, who is a great story teller, and Dad are in the middle of it. No wonder that Dad lived a long life. And Paul has had miracles in his own.
6 comments:
I can hear the laughter, just looking at the picture. And Paul looks so young!
Dad's hearty laugh - and we all laughed with him. What fun we had together, telling stories, or just laughing for the sheer joy of being together.
One fun memory I have of Dad's laugh is when we were still living in Penrose. There were two ping pong paddles (I don't have any idea where they came from.) and from time to time a ping pong ball would magically appear. Dad would stand at one end of the hallway, by the door to Steve and Dwight's bedroom, with all the doors closed and Steve, Judy or me (and maybe there were others) would stand in the living room. We would hit the ball back and forth and laugh like crazy as the ball would bounce all over the place. Dad would laugh at the craziness, but he would keep us going until we were worn out. Do you suppose that was his motivation?
I love the picture, what a treasure. One can't help but laugh just looking at it, Dad's laugh was always a happy laugh and is one of the many memorable things about him, and this picture portrays that so well, whoever took the picture captured his enjoyment of humor. I love it that we are a laughing family. Some of my grandkids called me the "laughing grandma". So, I'm wondering if you posted this picture because of the conference talk on finding humor and laughing at things in our lives. A great picture to remind us to laugh.
I don't know who took the picture, I only know that the ugly, orange flowered couch is mine. You are all correct, there are so many lessons to be learned here. And remember, this is only one of MANY good laughs and good stories such as the one that Ann recounted. Those ping pong paddles were under the Christmas tree one year. One might wonder what could be done with such equipment without the table. Not so with us!
I always wondered where the ping pong paddles came from and now I know. Judy, I had forgotten about the sweet little lady who loved my laugh. It is true, laughter gets us through some really tough spots, and helps bring perspective. And just so you know, it does normalize blood pressure.
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