Hilarity

hi·lar·i·tyNoun/həˈle(ə)ritē/

1. Extreme amusement, esp. when expressed by laughter.

2. Boisterous merriment.

There has been much discussion over the years about Hillary's name.  When I was pregnant with her, I wanted to name a girl "Harmony".  But others thought that was the kind of name that would cause people to make fun of a child.  And I was a teenager...easily swayed.  So I chose "Hillary" instead.  Now that it's apparent what kind of person our girl is, everyone agrees that "Harmony" would have been perfect.  She's musical AND she brings peace and unity to whatever group she is a part of.  

But "Hillary" fits just as well.

It means "cheerful".  And she is.  But the name also has the same root as "hilarity".  And if there is anything that brings hilarity to our family, it's our Hillary.

Case in point...

Today we were sitting at the table, finishing our Sunday lunch...an event that is becoming rare around our growing up family, when the conversation turned to tasting.

..."Maybe I'm a Supertaster," I said.

My family just looked around at each other as if to say "Here she goes..."

"Seriously," I protested.  "It's a real thing.  Some people have more taste buds than others and react more strongly to taste.  You can get a little test disc to disolve on your tongue.  Some people don't even taste it, some kind of taste it.  And some taste it so strongly they are gagging and looking for a drink."

This led to wondering where one could score such a neat product...which led to the question of whether one could see this with the naked eye and do their own testing by counting the taste buds on various tongues...which led, of course, to all of us sticking out our tongues.

Hillary erupted in laughter.  "Mom!  Stick out your tongue again."  hahahaha "Why do you make that face?" hahahaha!

"What face?"

"Look at Parker.  When he sticks out his tongue, he looks normal.  But when you do it, your entire face changes!" hahahaha

By this point her mirth was contagious.  Parker was laughing.  Even Hubby was chuckling.  Hillary was squeaking her words by now and wiping tears from her eyes.  Which made me laugh too.  

I don't know anyone else who could turn something so simple into something that engulfs a family in shared belly laughter.  

This kind of stuff happens all the time when Hillary is around.  She laughs easily and with no holds barred.  And thank goodness...since the rest of us tend to be more reserved and serious.  I think God knew this little family would need regular bursts of Harmony AND Hilarity.