August 23 2021

By: Jackie Naginey Hook
Monday, August 23, 2021

People often ask me how I take care of myself since my work involves life with tears and laughter. One of the things I do is allow myself to freely express my tears and laughter. I’ve learned that like C.S. Lewis said, ““No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.” When I notice those feelings, I try to let the tears come. And the same is true of laughter. My husband is very good at making me laugh. I’ll always remember the night when I was leaving an intensely deep and emotional gathering and opened the car door to ride home with my husband who had been waiting for me. The noise surprised him and he made a funny shrieking sound. I went from profound sadness to belly hurting laughing.  All was well.

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