#Grateful

By Erika Rizkallah

What a difference a week makes! We've had sunny skies for almost a full six days and I am way less achy. I'm so grateful because I put myself on a mini-vacation before school started and I actually enjoyed myself for a sustained period.

Yesterday I spent hours in a few home stores, just pushing my cart through the aisles with about a million other Southern ladies trying to take advantage of Labor Day sales. It was funny just to listen to all the laughter and hootin' and hollering' - yes, that's actually a thing here.

The one thing I've learned since moving to the South, is that all true Southern ladies, value their families and homes. Decorating them is a favorite pastime. I get right in there with them.

Best of all, I enjoyed time with the ladies in my family on a cruise down the Cape Fear River.  I felt so blessed to be able to run errands and then relax myself on a sunset cruise.

I hope you're taking time out to enjoy these last few days of summer!

Can you laugh at yourself?

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." E.E. Cummings

Yesterday was a funny day, in more ways than one. Sometimes my brain gets a little wonky and I forget things. It happens so often these days that I've learned to laugh at myself. The other option is to feel stupid and beat myself up emotionally, but self-abuse is not my thing.

                                                                     So I laugh.

As you may know, I'm at a writer's conference. Yesterday was my big day for appointments and I had meetings with two agents and an editor. This is a big deal in the conference world, and one of the main benefits of going. I made sure I had everything I needed and looked my best because you never get a second chance to make a good first impression right?

I was walking down a big hill to breakfast with my friend Andy when she made a comment about how comfortable her shoes were. That got me thinking about how comfortable my shoes were so I looked down . . .

and realized I was wearing my house slippers, not the cute little flats I'd set out. Andy and I laughed so hard that I had to ask her to stop. Otherwise, I'd pee my pants - bladder control is another symptom this nasty disease affects.

Later that day, I went to two appointments and forgot the third. This means I totally blew off an editor and I'll probably never be able to write for her publication.

                                                                  All I can do is laugh.

Can you laugh at yourself?

Laughter can be healing and contagious. I try to find at least one video a day that makes me chuckle, but the best ones cause belly aches and incontinence.

According to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, surgeons used humor to distract patients from pain as early as the 13th century. More recently, studies have revealed that laughter reduces pain, decreases stress related hormones and helps boost the immune system.

How about you? Do you have ways to distract yourself from pain or create laughter?