A big belly laugh frees the spirit, lifting it from despair to jubilation in mere minutes. I know this true because it happened to me this weekend.

I’d been going through daily routine while checking on my mother’s recovery, grieving lost loved ones, maintaining a household and keeping a close eye on my health. But, I had little or no joy.

Then, as my fiancé and I drove to Connecticut to take care of that residence, he reminded me of things we said we’d do together but we hadn’t done. One of them was a murder mystery dinner. As we sped up the Merritt Parkway, I googled shows of this type near our home in New Jersey. I discovered The Murder Mystery Company was hosting one on Sunday. I immediately bought tickets.

When we arrived at the Elks Lodge in Wayne, I didn’t know what to expect at all. We took a few photos together then took our seats. A woman dressed like a maid came up and gave us a book with our instructions. She also presented me with a name tag and red hat. She informed me that I was going to be part of the show.

For two hours, I got to be as carefree as a child again. I pranced around in my costume, speaking the way I thought billionaire talk show host Ella Vader would talk. I told off the cuff jokes, shared Ella’s secrets with strangers, tried to follow clues, questioned suspects, vogued in front a crowd full of people, and turned down a marriage proposal from my pretend secret lover. And, I allowed myself to be handcuffed to bring the murder mystery to an end because it turns out I was the guilty party.

One of my proudest moments of the evening was when I won best dressed. My fiancé whispered I should’ve taken home the best actress certificate. But, I was happy with the one I claimed. I’d spent an hour and a half in party city picking just the right mask and dress to shine at the masquerade ball that was the backdrop for the murder mystery show.
I got to escape from my daily stresses by playing dress up and having some fun.

#murdermystery #Cancer #cancersucks #mothersanddaughters #grief #invisibleillness #chronicillness #chronicpain #disability #autoimmunedisease #spoonie