For Snorts and Giggles

I have always laughed too loud. I was the girl who got in trouble at sleepovers. I was the one incapable of playing "Telephone" because I was snorting and shaking so hard.

I grew up hearing my dad laugh. I would be sitting downstairs, watching TV and hear him pounding on the floor with his feet.

I wish I could say I only laugh at highbrow humor, but that would be a lie. I laugh at grade-school jokes. Ones like "where does a snowman keep his money? In the snow bank."

And I don't just giggle. I snort, convulse and stomp my feet. I was in CVS a few months ago, picking out a card for Brian's birthday. The front of the card has a man named Gutnis climbing a mountain. The punch line was, "so enjoy your birthday, for Gutnis' sake."

I laughed out loud and snorted simultaneously. When Brian opened it and read it, I told him I literally laughed out loud. His response was, "I know you did."

I prefer not to see funny movies in the theater because I feel like a fool. I am much more comfortable at home, where I can stomp on the floor and snort and twist around on the couch.

I don't like to watch funny movies with strangers. I don't like to watch funny movies if someone else hasn't already seen it. (I tend to start laughing in anticipation of the funny parts and it ruins it for people.) I don't like humor that is angry. I don't like humor that is explicit or racist.

I will watch the same funny movie multiple times and laugh just as hard at the funny parts as I did the first time I saw it. Case in point, Bridesmaids.

I laughed until I cried. I especially loved the scene at the bridal boutique and the bridal shower. Those two scenes alone almost made me pee my pants. Even the thought of those scenes makes me laugh.

But repeat viewing allows me to catch subtlety. I get to hear the small comments in between the obviously big laughs. And those cause even bigger laughs. I am famous for memorizing lines, repeating them randomly and then laughing out loud some more.

I am glad to report that my kids have adopted some of these traits. We laugh at movies together, perform scenes together and generally spend a lot of time laughing. It's a great way to walk through life.