Humor Heals – Laughter is the Best Medicine
My maiden name is Hoole, which rhymes with fool. So, when I was born on April 1st, many of my parents’ family members and friends encouraged my parents to be clever and name me April Hoole. I’m glad they showed a mature restraint and went with Elaine. Yet still, being born on April Fools’ Day comes with its own set of excitements.
Growing up, I was the recipient of many practical jokes on my birthday. There was the disappearing ink spilled on my nice blouse and me trying to retrieve a stick of gum, only to have my finger snapped by a trigger in the package. I remember one year celebrating with my friends as they brought out a beautifully decorated birthday cake. After I blew out the candles, I cut into it, just to discover it was really a frosting adorned cardboard box! “April Fools” they cheered, and we all laughed. Happily, there was a delicious cake waiting in my friend’s kitchen for us.
A fun birthday
I love laughing and enjoy a good prank, so it was easy for me to embrace all the jokes on my birthday. In high school, my friend Pat and I came up with a prank, which was to change places with each other in the middle of the night. On the morning of April 1st, I woke up in her bed at her home, and she woke up at my home. I think Pat clued her dad in though on the switch-a-roo, because he had made me birthday pancakes for breakfast. Pat and I continued all day to be the other person, following each other’s schedules, going to each other’s classes, even wearing each other’s clothing. Then after school, Pat drove to the airport to pick up my mom, and I went to a meeting of hers. We had a lot of fun and laughed with others as they looked at us twice when we surprised them.
I started making it a tradition of playing practical jokes on others on April 1st. My favorite was a few years ago when I put a few gold fish I had just purchased the day before into each of the toilets at our home right before everyone woke up. I sat in bed and couldn’t help but giggle when I heard the screams and shocked responses. “Mom! You’re not gonna believe what’s in the toilet! Come look! After a good laugh we ended up just flushing the fish. But, don’t worry about them, they were “feeder” fish and their longevity was only a few days anyway.
Laughter the best medicine
Speaking of pranks, I believe God likes to get in on April Fool’s Jokes. After we declare the first day of spring to be around March 20th, we gratefully begin to breathe in warmer weather. Then just as we sigh a big relief and store away our coats and pull out our sandals, God sends a late snow storm. I imagine God throwing His head back as He laughs out loud, hooting in an amiable and inviting way. God tells us in Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
Yes, it’s true. Along with having a lot of fun, humor can heal. A good laugh, like a good cry, releases harmful chemicals from your body. I hope, you like me, found the funny memes that were passed around this last year during the Covid lockdowns, a way to make the year 2020 more tolerable, when we could laugh with each other.
Benefits of laughter
The Mayo Clinic states, “stress relief from laughter is no joke:” And they suggest that humor heals as they list the benefits of laughter, which are:
- Boosts the immune system
- Stimulates your organs
- Soothes tension
- Relieves pain
- Improves your mood
For me, humor helps me with my depression and anxiety. When depression is present and fueling a frustration of mine, I become more irritable and anxious than I’d like to be. I then look for ways to “break the fever” of anger, and one good way of doing so is by laughing until my mascara runs down my checks. Humor can help me chase away my anxiety and depression.
I grew up laughing with Carol Burnette and the MASH TV series. I now like to listen to the stand-up comedians Brian Regan and Jim Gaffigan. My family will sit around and quote their jokes – even the ones we tell over and over still make us laugh. For instance, we love telling this one: Brian Regan says, “I was at the doctor’s the other day for a check-up and he said to me, ‘Hey Brian, I don’t like the look of that mole and I see you have put on a few extra pounds.’ Doctors are the only people who can pass out insults and then charge you for them.” ha ha Well, when Brian tells it, it’s funny.
In addition to comedians, I follow humorous sites on social media such as Anxious Moms and Laugh Until the Tears Run Down Ur Legs and there are many more sites. Here is a list of ways to get laughing:
- Collect jokes
- Follow humorous social media sites
- Tell knock, knock jokes to your family and friends
- Watch comedians on you tube
- Google memes
- Attend a laughing yoga class – google it, it’s real
- Watch funny movies
- Play pranks on family and friends
April Fools’ Day
April 1st is a few weeks away and I hope you will have a good laugh with some old fashion fun by playing jokes on your family and friends. Just a quick thought though, think ahead. Pranks have now become more sophisticated than salt in the sugar bowl and toothpaste between Oreos, thanks to people sharing ideas on the internet. I recently have played pranks like gluing googly eyes to everything in the refrigerator and putting jelly beans (the larger ones work best) in the ice-maker. My family couldn’t help but laugh when they saw the food in the fridge looking back at them and when their glass filled with jelly beans instead of ice.
To give me some pay back, my children found an official looking document online. They sent me a “notice of license suspension” in the mail, saying my driver’s license was being revoked because of a traffic ticket I had recently received. My heart did skip a beat as I sweated for a few minutes until I realized it was an April Fools’ prank. They got me and I laughed out loud.
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Ahh, I love to be reminded of the gift of humor and laughter! I also love the mention of God being in on all of this! I too, am a firm believer in the gift of laughter, and also of the reality of humor in Deity! He did create us after all, and his humor must be better than all the the greatest comedians on earth. So,…I see Him laughing, playful and light hearted, (not all the time, of
course), with us, at us, and for us, to cheer us on!
Ps. What do you call the man at the front door? …….Matt. (Hehe)!
Kerri,
I am not sure if my first reply went through.Thank you for your comment! I love the joke!
You are so creative when it comes to April fools jokes! I’ll never forget the prank you had the girls pull on us about their being bugs all over our floor. haha! Laughing really does help our health!
I am so proud of the girls for pulling the prank off do well!!
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m glad you also know that God has a great sense of humor! It’s a good thing or we could all be in trouble, right?! Love your joke too. I’ll share that with my grandchildren. Ha ha
Thank you for reminding me what good medicine laughter is! It made me want to try harder to find humor everyday and have a few good jokes up my sleeve to help family members who might need help with a mood lift.
I have a cousin who always has a funny story to share when we get together. It’s usually about something that’s happened to her recently. Her gift of noticing and remembering humor in the everyday is one of the things I love most about her.
Thanks for your wonderful post!
Your cousin sounds like a lot of fun! Humor can go a long way!
Elaine, I enjoyed your article! My dad was an April 1st baby (1916). All the pranks you mentioned have been played on him. He always let others think they “got” him.
Good to hear your thoughts. You have been a wonderful friend for many years.
Thanks so much for your comment Barbara. I didn’t know your dad was an April Fool baby! How fun to know. You are also a wonderful friend. I miss you!
I believe in the power of laughter, it truly is the best medicine. Now to start plotting my April Fool’s pranks….
Thanks for your comment. You’ll have to let me know what pranks you pull off.
Very good thoughts, Elaine. Lincoln attributed humor to keeping his sanity during the darkest days of the civil war. Laughter is indeed the best medicine.
Thanks Greg!
Thanks Elaine for the uplifting article. There were lots of fun comments made during this past year. I liked this one as many of us thought it would be a good time to concentrate on a diet.
So how’s your diet going?
Not good. I had eggs for breakfast.
Scrambled?
No…Cadbury!!!
Happy Birthday April 1
Thanks for your comment and for sharing the Cadbury egg joke! I love it.
Loved your post. It made me laugh — just reading about all the delightful pranks and fun you’ve had throughout your life. You have so much wisdom. Thanks for sharing.
I so appreciate your kind comment
Laughter is a great medicine! And we loved prancing you with the speeding tickets! lol
You guys got me. I am impressed with all you went to, to make it look official!
I remember you telling us about switching places with your friend Pat. Too funny! I’m so impressed that you followed through all day! You’ve inspired me to start plotting for April Fool’s day this year.
I loved it when your twins changed places in school!
What fun to hear about laughter!!! I do believe everything you said. It is important to feel joyful and have happiness in our lives. Bruce is also an April fool. We have enjoyed teasing him as a family. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Denise! I love sharing my birthday with Bruce. Fun times.
As co-conspirator in Elaine’s high school identity prank, I can attest to the facts as she laid them out in her post. HOWEVER, Elaine left out one significant detail…she did NOT allow me to trade her places when it came time for her birthday date with her then boyfriend! Just saying….
Thanks for all the great April Fool’s capers over the years, Elaine!
Pat always had the best ideas and made high school so much fun!
As co-conspirator in Elaine’s high school identity prank, I can attest to the facts as she laid them out in her post. HOWEVER, Elaine left out one significant detail…she did NOT allow me to trade her places when it came time for her birthday date with her then boyfriend! Just saying….
Thanks for all the great April Fool’s capers over the years, Elaine!