Laughter is powerful medicine. I have read stories about people lying on their death bed with end-stage cancer, who were determined to go out laughing — and their cancer disappeared after watching a marathon of comedy shows!

My daughter has been going through a really rough time lately. One of the tools she typically uses to get through the hard times in life is her great sense of humor. She loves to laugh, and she can usually find something to laugh about, regardless of the circumstances. I like to think she got some of that from me.

Last week, the painful situation that my daughter has been going through was keeping her up at night. She was too upset to sleep, although she was exhausted. I was also unable to sleep. My mind simply would not turn off. So at two in the morning her time, when we both should have been sleeping, my daughter and I were sending texts back and forth.

Feeling utterly helpless, I sent her a text saying “I am so sad. Is there anything I can do to help?”

She replied “Please don’t be sad.”

Thinking of how futile it is to ask me not to be sad when my daughter is hurting, I decided to send her a picture that would demonstrate how sad I felt. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

I have more than three hundred photos on my phone, so I figured I could find something appropriate to the situation. Here are the pictures I sent, along with their attached text messages: 

Sad like bear poop.

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Sad like Jay’s chihuahua when she had a sick tummy.

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Sad like an old abandoned motel.

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Happiness is just a distant memory.

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Just freaking sad.

My daughter replied: “OK that made me laugh.” After that, we were both able to get some much needed sleep.

Thank you for stopping by. And remember: if you’re having a rough day, you aren’t really sad unless you are sad like bear poop. 😉

God bless.