Life can be complicated, with trials and tribulations from birth to death, and all the convoluted paths we travel in between. Having a sense of humor helps us smooth the rough edges of life.

When we are annoyed by the neighborhood sound of a loud automobile horn honking and ask at the dinner table, “Who could be doing that!” and the reply from our seven-year-old daughter is “Beeps me!”, all is right in the world again!

When we don’t take ourselves too seriously and see the humor in everyday situations we take the stress out of boring daily routines. When the nurse asks me to tell her
if I’m still taking all of the ten medications listed and she comes across a prescription with fourteen letters and five syllables I ask, “Could they put more syllables in that word?”, I get a smile.

Humor can defuse a heated argument, sometimes deflate a stuffed shirt without too much harm, and generally put people at ease. It is the glue that cemented my relationship with my husband. I sat next to him in high school Senior English and saved up jokes to tell him when we sat next to each other in assembly. He replied in kind and our romance blossomed.

We have carried it through our marriage to ease the conflicts that come with living with a partner and then two children. A sense of humor is necessary in raising kids. They can be funny in their own right but we need to take a lighthearted approach to their tantrums and annoyances without demeaning them. Helping them see humor
in all aspects of life gives them an emotional balance that will help them grapple with the vagaries of growing into themselves.

Awhile back I went to a fundraiser for a charity that my daughter works for. I met two of her young female interns. They immediately commented that she was fun to work with. I told them her horn honking story and they were delighted. When my daughter turned to us one of them alluded to the story. My daughter laughed and the result was a warm connection among all of us.

Recently we were out to dinner with both of our daughters, one son-in-law and my twelve-year-old grandson and thirteen-year-old granddaughter. The kids played a trick on me by switching drawings and having me choose the best. They got a big laugh with their joke. But I told them they must have recognized I would take it with good humor or they wouldn’t have attempted it.

When we left the pizza restaurant the only other patrons there, an older couple, gave us a warm goodbye. What was it that they saw? An extended family talking and laughing, grandkids drawing and playing a joke on grandma? Nobody on cell phones or electronic devices? I can only guess, but I felt pride that my husband and I helped raise