I watched stories on Instagram earlier this week when the magical algorithm served up a post from a local restaurant owner. The video was filmed in her living room and starts with a long pause at the record cover for the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack. Behind it, the record was spinning on the wooden turntable. Then, the distinct cacophony of giggles. 

As the camera panned to the right, you see her husband and son laughing hysterically. In one swoop, Dad swung his son’s small body up. Giggling every bit of the way. Her son, I found out later, has been obsessed with the lift that happens when they play “The Time of My Life” in the movie. So, her husband has been lifting their kiddo over and over, filling the living room with laughter again and again.

I responded to her message and asked if they sell a copy of that record with the laugh track behind it. I wish. The song punctuated by laughter brought me so much joy. Joy in the same way that meeting a friend's adorable rescue dog makes me feel. The excitement when I hear the first few mesmerizing notes of a guitar riff I love at a concert, interrupting the sweat and standstill with something beautiful. 

Lately, I have become a joy junkie, slowing down to savor everything. The flowers I see while walking the dogs. The giggles from a sweet kid asking to be picked up one more time. The singer that put their whole heart into a song we all love. Picking up my laptop to write these letters and capture my life’s soundtrack with a bonus laugh track.

Seek out the joy, sweet friends.  Just hit play.