Laughter Among Friends

Written for Week #27 GBE2 prompt - Laughter    

     Since this is Thanksgiving week, I would like to elaborate on things I am thankful for during the next few days.  What better way to start than with this weeks GBE2 challenge word - laughter.  How could I not be thankful for the gift of laughter?

     When I think of laughter my mind immediately conjours up visions of the source of my most heart-felt, belly shaking, roll on the floor laughter - none other than my 5 best friends.  The 6 of us are as close to being the real life Ya-Ya sisters as any group of women ever could be.   Let me introduce you to my friends.

     Libby is our mother hen.  She keeps us in line and worries for all of us.  She is soft spoken, but we all tease her that when Libby speaks, everyone listens.   

     Next, we have Linda.  Linda is our classy lady-about-town.   She is always stylish and on the go.  She is a bundle of non-stop energy.   

     Now meet Kelly.  Kelly is our all-business career woman; always looking for that next opportunity. Afraid she might miss something, she can constantly be caught texting and reading emails from her Blackberry hidden under the table.  Besides business, she is the only one of the 6 of us that still has 2 teenagers at home to keep up with.  

     Ann is the good-natured one of the bunch.  She has the sweetest disposition and always has a smile on her face.    She's a lot of fun to be around.

     Last, but definitely not least, is Brenda.  Brenda is our resident comedian and storyteller.  I have never in my life met anyone like her.   She is a true walking example of "Murphy's Law"; anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.  But once it has, she will be the first one to make a funny story out of it, embellishing the details and making it into the most hilarious story you have ever heard.    She is the best storyteller ever, bar none, and will have you rolling in the floor with tears running down your face from laughing so hard.  She missed her calling by not being a professional comedian!

     As you can see, we are quite a diverse group.   In spite of our differences, or maybe because of them, we are the best group of friends anyone could wish for.  We love each other, always have each others backs and can always count on each other to be there when needed.  But most of all, we share laughter.  I've heard it said that laughter adds years to your life.  If so, we will all live to be at least 100 because when we are together it is non-stop laughter.  We enjoy each others company and laugh at the silliest things.  When we are out in public, such as in restaurants, other people usually are affected in one of 2 ways - they either look at us like we are crazy, or drunk, or, they want to join us because we are having so much fun.  We've actually had strangers tell us they want whatever we're having!

      I am truly thankful for laughter and for my girlfriends with whom I can share it.  I have recently been reading a daily inspirational book titled, "Moments of Laughter for Girlfriends", by Barbour Publishing.  To use a quote from it, "When we count the blessings God has given, we should count our friends twice - and those who bring us laughter, twice more".

     So this Thanksgiving I'm doing just that.  For my friends, Libby, Linda, Kelly, Ann and Brenda, I am counting my blessings twice and then twice more.  I could never adequately express my gratefulness for the positive things they bring to my life.  Their love, friendship and laughter are true blessings beyond measure.

Happy Thanksgiving Ya-Ya Sisters!  I love you all!

Until next time...that's my view.

Kat