"Somewhere we lost about 385 laughs"

Dr. Gary Palmer is most enthusiastic man.

Ever.

He typically interrupts his own classes for riotous applause. Every class period is a flow experience. I have never been bored in class or wished that I was in bed or doing something else or something more productive.

I want to be like Dr. Palmer. I would love to just bask in the glory but they're forcing the old man to retire.

On the last day of class Dr. Palmer told us that "children laugh about 400 times a day. Adults only laugh about 15 times a day. Somewhere we lost about 385 laughs."

Fourth grade. That's when I started losing my laughs. Between September 1997 and May 1998 I managed to fall in love with Tyler Bulloch. I was so in love that I would get to class early so I could swap our chairs so that I could sit in the same chair that Tyler once sat in. Maybe if I sat in his chair we would be connected through some magical connection of love and he would love me too. Maybe.

This is the same year I realized that there were popular kids and that I was not one of them. Megan McAllister had a Pocahontas bra. She showed it to me after we had walked home together. I did not have a Pocahontas bra. Not that either of us had any reason to wear any bra, but still... Megan McAllister was popular. I was not. Maybe her popularity had something to do with that bra. Maybe.

Laughing gradually faded out of my life for a while. Faded like an old T-shirt that still has some image printed but you have to stare at it for a bit to determine what it is. Laughter was still there but not as bold as it once was.

Thank heavens I figured out that life is not about Pocahontas bras or tricking boys into loving you or being the smartest or the fastest or the skinniest or the oldest or the kid with a Ding Dong and a crust-less PBJ for lunch. No, life is so much more. I am so much more. I am more than my soar throat or my hairy arms or my worn out sneakers. My chubby fingers do not add or detract from my ability to be happy nor do my incredibly attractive ankles add or detract from my ability to seek knowledge, be a good friend, or meticulously replace the toilet paper roll. No. I am SO MUCH MORE than what you see.

Knowing that I am so much more enables me to laugh a little more and maybe now I am only missing about 130 laughs. Maybe.

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This is Linda Hill. She started Somuchmore. It's a company that makes humorous t-shirts for cancer survivors. I have got to admit, they are pretty freaking hilarious t-shirts. Phases like, “I lost my colon but I’m still full of crap…” How do you not love that?
Check out the site: somuchmoreonline.com.

Good people deserve to be learned of. Take time to learn about Linda Hill in this video below. (Maybe one day I'll discover how to make this video not hang over my right scroll bar like that. Maybe.)



Check out the organization on facebook and read this quote below because it will change the way you think:

"Linda has had Hodgkin’s Disease (lymphoma cancer), thyroid cancer, and breast cancer. She’s undergone chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone treatments. Her spleen, thyroid and both breasts have been removed. Most recently, her colon was removed in a pre-emptive strike against colon cancer. Trust me… she is all too aware that cancer is not funny.

But this is not about Linda. This is about feeling confident and strong, happy and full of life, despite the scars cancer leaves behind. This is about attitude. This is about fighting the fight… but with spirit!

When we think of people we love, we talk of their sense of humor, their kindness, their talents, and countless other qualities. Never do we describe someone as whether they have their breasts or not.

Your breasts do not make you outgoing and fun. Bone marrow does not make you love to bake, dance, or play sports. Your colon does not give you your love for family and friends. And it is not your thyroid that gives you faith in God

Cancer does not define us. We are so much more."