“Laughter is carbonated holiness.” 
-Author Anne Lamott
I mean…c’mon. Does a description get any better than that?

Over the high holidays this fall, as I watched and listened to my rabbi conduct the services yet again over zoom (will we ever go back??) she included this little gem in her sermon and it stopped me in my tracks. There was something so very palpable about this description and it dawned on me: carbonation/fizziness/giddiness/bubbliness is EXACTLY how I feel when I’m laughing. And, I am indeed a better person when I let some of that carbonated fizzy goodness into my daily life. Which brings me to my favorite word: F*CK.

**If any of my fans and followers are not down with my favorite four-letter word, you can bow out now. (We can still be friends.) But for those of you who think this is the BEST. WORD. EVER. as do I, read on for some bubbles, friends.

#TRUTH BOMB: There are situations in life where simply NO other word will suffice. This word is the only word (in my humble opinion) that can be simultaneously serious, hilarious, exclamatory, and downright perfect to express what’s going on at any given moment.

Like the moment that happened just this week with my mother.

My father has had a series of health challenges over the past few years that have riddled our tight-knit family with a roller coaster of ups and downs; a lot of reimagining “normal”; and a great deal of stress. Add COVID as a cherry on top of this sh*t sundae and you have yourselves a perfect sh*t storm. Yesterday, my mother and I took my father to the hospital for a very long-awaited surgery that had been postponed and rescheduled several times due to a million bizarre complications and setbacks. So, as you can imagine, my mother and I were a little punchy by the time we finally got my father to the hospital.

As we waited it out in a nearby hotel lobby, I thought it the perfect time to present my mother with a gift that I felt 100% encapsulated all that we have been through as a family over the past few years:
I found this little gem on the internet and when I saw it, I knew my mother simply had to have it. You see, my mother never swears. She never has a bad word to say about anyone or most anything. She’s one of the most positive people you’ll ever meet. But over the past few years, there have been several occasions where the theater of the absurd that has been my father’s situation can ONLY be met with the word, F*CK. As a matter of fact, the entire quote on this bag is the EXACT thing my mother would say when things ever got really bad. It’s as if the person who made this bag peered into my mother’s soul and knew she needed to own it so she could wave it as her own personal “mantra flag” when times are tough.

Which brings me back to carbonated holiness. If you’ve never seen two grown women laugh until they cry in the middle of a hotel lobby while clutching a makeup bag to their chest, well, you’re missing out. We sat there and laughed and laughed and cried (I call this “craughing”) for what seemed like forever and IT. FELT. F*CKING. FANTASTIC. It was the release that we both desperately needed and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. It allowed us to take a deep breath; reaffirm that we have each other; count our blessings in the midst of all the chaos; and soldier on.

So, in the fervor of this sparkly season, I’m wishing you all a moment of carbonated holiness. One that reminds you things will be okay. One that makes you grateful for all the goodness despite the craziness. One that reminds you to check on those around you to let them know they are in your thoughts. But most importantly, one that makes you laugh so hard that carbonated fizzy goodness comes right out your nose.
Love and bubbles to you and yours,
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