hear her laugh

This photo was stolen off fb ... by me. 

It was taken recently at a wedding that would have been so fun to be at. 

I use to spend some fun quality time with the young woman in this shot. 

The little ones maternal grandmother was one of my closest friends in my teens and is still so dear to my heart ... in fact, we were baptized together. 

The paternal grandparents and great grands are cherished deeply by us and our children. 

And yet ... I didn't borrow this photo for any of those things listed above. 

I grabbed it for one comment that was posted below the photo. 

The comment that said "I can hear her laughing". 

I have seen this child a time or two. 

I know her families. 

And yet ... I don't know her laugh. 

I have never heard it. 

Yet this photo made me think of other laughs. 

The ones that rattle windows across the country. 

The laughs you conjure up in your mind that bring you right back to a place in time ... in the blink of an eye. 

The laughs that turned to tears. 

The laugh of a very dear friend. 

The laugh of a dear sister who you haven't seen in so very long. 

The laughs of my own grandchildren when they aren't in the room with me. 

The joy that is laughter. 

I can't hear hers ... I hear the others ... and I laugh for the joy of it all.