don't make me laugh

There's a woman who works in my building, die hard smoker, who by now must have Emphysema. I used to think she was unfriendly, but it turns out, she's smoked so much for so long that she can barely utter a full sentence without breaking into a wheeze fest.

I personally have come down with the kind of chest cold that's making me walk around telling people NOT to make me laugh because the cough that comes with it is so terribly painful.

That said, I was reminded of the smoker lady who's grandchildren, children, etc. should she have any will never hear the sound of her actual laughter. And making her laugh actually makes you feel a little bad because she's now wheezing and coughing between drags.

I'm bringing this up for reasons other than the obvious "DON'T SMOKE." I'm bringing it up because habit and the odd workarounds, nuances and pain that go with it are all around us. I went out with a good friend the other day and she recalled how she had at one time shared a bed with someone who was quite a cuddler. They had a water bed and she would often end up finding herself stuck between the bed frame and the actual bed. Most people who have dogs or pets that sleep with them go through similar conundrums and continue the pattern nonetheless.

These are pretty harmless examples, but the moral of the story is the same. People will often endure pain in order to avoid the pain of changing. So, how did we get to be that way? And what's your pain?