Besides being the title of one of my favorite musicals of all time, this is also something that God gives us the grace to do. Even in the tough times, we’re given reasons to smile, laugh, reach out to others, and perhaps even break out singing Broadway show tunes.
Now some people who don’t know me extremely well might have thought I’d gone off the deep end when I was in the hallway of our apartment building the other day and suddenly broke into song and dance. Kevin just smiled and rolled his eyes at my own rendering of some verses from one of my other fave classics: “The Sound of Music.” I was fairly certain no one would come out of the door or up the stairs at that very moment, so as it was dreary and drizzling outside and we were walking down four flights of stairs to get our laundry, I sang a sped-up, “I have confidence in sunshine. I have confidence in rain. I have confidence that spring will come agaaaain. As you can see, I have confidence in me.” I did a little dance as I sang much to Kevin’s amusement.
My mom’s appreciation for classic entertainment in addition to popular Disney animated movies has inspired me with a love of musicals. In fact, I have certain films of each genre almost completely memorized. I mostly use comedic quotes from them and the occasional verse or two from a song. Just ask my husband.
Though growing up my mom had strict orders against any singing at the dinner table, my sisters and I have gotten away with it many times, and Mom even joins in. In recent years, some of my favorite dinner table moments have occurred when my mom, sisters, and I will all start singing a song from some musical while my husband and brother-in-law smile and kind of raise their eyebrows at each other. Much of my sense of humor as well as my ability to make funny facial expressions definitely came from my dad. He loved to make people laugh, and he was usually pretty good at it. We honored my dad’s wacky sense of humor at the dinner we had the evening of his funeral by engaging in some of the silliness he used to when our family would go out to dinner at a nice restaurant. I’m certain he was looking down and laughing at us, with us. Nana, Pa, and Uncle Bob were chuckling right along with him.
It encourages me to know that even in the midst of crisis, I haven’t lost my ability to be spontaneously silly. That’s a gift both of my parents have given me. If it weren’t for laughter, I’m not sure how I’d make it through some things. Thanks God for laughter and the ability to smile, sing, and dance even in the rain.
