Man's best friend

Tonight at the nursing home where I play each week I got to know one of the residents a bit more. Usually when I am there and singing and playing guitar in the hallways (as the folks get ready for bed) he is asleep in his wheelchair. Tonight though he spoke to me as I was walking by. I then went to him and he said, "I miss my wife." and burst into tears. I said, "oh I am so sorry, I am sure that you must feel very sad about that."  That made him cry harder and I rubbed his back and touched his arm and kept trying to say comforting things. "She must have been a nice lady",  "I'll bet she was very pretty" and he would cry more and say, "yes she was!"  I was so moved by his tears that I started to tear up a bit myself.

Then I decided to try to cheer him up. I don't normally try to talk someone out of their grief but I thought perhaps it would be more productive then dwelling on the past.  Since there was a painting above his head with a dog in the picture I asked, "do you like dogs?" and immediately, his face brightened and he smiled.  Then I started to sing, "How much is that Doggie in the Window" and he started to laugh.   I then started to do a little dance as I sang  the song and acted it out a bit while he laughed with tears streaming down his face. As I continued to sing the song, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

I was reminded of when I was a child, I used to go wake up my mother in the morning and  do pantomimes and dance around to make her laugh. I'd put on her glasses and be silly and she just loved it.  Laughter is the best medicine sometimes.

Have you laughed today?