Laughing together: if you have old friends, you have history together

I think one of the best thing about being friends for years is the history you have together. And the second is the laughter you’ve shared.

When you’ve been friends for decades, your friends witnessed the fashion trends you embraced. And the hairstyles. I’ll never forget the time I came home with a haircut exactly like Corey Hart’s. I’m a girl; it wasn’t a good look. My best friend was kind enough not to laugh, and to tell me it’d grow back. My dad wasn’t so kind (!)

But there’s also the times when R and I put together a picnic in a matchmaking effort. We wanted our friends Stacey and Paul to get together. It didn’t happen. But we sure laugh about it decades later.

Or that time we went rollerblading in High Park in Toronto. Except it was all downhill. And we spend a horrifying 5 minutes going downhill at top speed, screaming at people to get out of the way. Yes, screaming. We were totally out of control. And finally crashing at the bottom and hitting a curb pretty hard. At the time it was a horror show. AND humiliating. But a week later we were already laughing about it.

Oh, and there was that glorious evening we celebrated R’s birthday. At a strip club with male dancers. I had enough presence of mind to take some amazing photos that evening.

So what’s the benefits of having these long-standing friendships? Who cares about those funny little stories you remember from 1997?

Well, those little stories enrich our lives. They make us look back, smile, and say “I did that.” They’re sweet memories to look back on. They make our lives brighter, bigger, more colourful.

Last year I met a woman who doesn’t have a great family dynamic, and also doesn’t have many friends. We got together, with a few other ladies, and my friend L surprised each of us with a little gift. This woman started to cry. She wasn’t used to women being nice to each other, supportive of each other, or even just plain having fun with other women. I’m glad to say that changed.

In researching friendship, what I’ve seen stated over and over is how important friendships are, especially as we age. For me, the biggest benefit of friendships is the laughter we’ve shared, which carry with it wonderful, dear memories. Science also tells us that laughter is indeed medicine.

I hope you’re out there living it up and laughing your --- off with your girlfriends. Because the endorphins your brain releases does wonders for your body. Not to mention your mental and emotional well-being.