This came out 6 years ago, but my 2 brain cells don’t remember it, so maybe you’ll enjoy it again, too.

Many of the readers of Before Morning Breaks are folks who’ve tromped the by-ways and vine-littered trails of life. The souvenirs they’ve picked up along their illustrious and rock-an-a-hard-place journeys are gemstones of stories and wisdom.

So when you ask this sort of folk: “What would you like for…..(Valentines, Christmas, birthday, whatever)

They say….“Nothing. I don’t want a thing.”

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I asked for this $260,000 Sport Yacht Cruiser…but Mr. Dallas Cowboy fan only laughed.

A few really, really brave souls will tell you, “Just a bit of time with you.”

But the truth is:

There’s something we all can use.

 A laugh.
A delicious, wonderful laugh that has no spaces in it for second guesses.

You feel it instantly when a friend has blanketed you with one of these laughs. There’s nothing about it that’s rueful or spider-webbed with cynicism.

It’s a gift, given with grace and ease. A gift that confirms you as a traveling partner. You may be stumbling toward different goals, but for that precious moment, you’re both on the same road.

So, I’m suggesting when you need to gift the person who has everything:

listen to each other’s stories
trade tea, hardtimes, and good books
plot the overthrow of small minds
commiserate about the head-scratching mysteries of love, life and death.
And most of all….LAUGH…deep from the belly without any thought that you sound like a coyote in heat, or look like a Jello jiggler.

Let ’er rip…..laugh.

Many of you have certainly made me guffaw and snort. It’s unfortunate we can’t hear each other’s laughs over the internet. We’ve added “LOL” and Happy faces until their edges have become worn and faded—like much-used Welcome Mats.