What helps you laugh? We took to the streets and coffee shops to ask this question of unsuspecting people. One rather cranky soul said, “If you’d leave me alone, then I could laugh!” But most were happy to respond. Here are some answers:
Kids can help us laugh. And not just when they’re small. Our daughter was studying in England and she phoned me. “Daddy,” she said, “I sure miss you, but if you were here it would ruin everything.”
When our son Steve was 3, he jumped on the sofa and quietly said, “Whew, I need to relax.”
Melanie, 5, asked her Gramma, “How old are you?” Granny replied that she was so old she didn’t remember any more. Melanie said, “If you don’t remember just look in the back of your panties. Mine say five to six.”
DJ, 4, stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: “How much do I cost?”
Marc, 4, was watching a young couple hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: “Why is he whispering in her mouth?”
Children can be brutally honest which makes for some terrifying yet humorous moments. Tammy, 4, was with her mother as she talked with an elderly, rather wrinkled friend. Tammy studied the lady awhile and asked her, ‘Why doesn’t your skin fit your face?’ Imagine.
Morgan, 5, was asked how she knew the difference between oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies when she couldn’t yet read. She said, “I can’t read, but I know cookies!”
Another little guy said, “My taste bugs aren’t working very well.”
And Hailey, 7, said, “Ah Mom, Tristan coughed all over the couch. Now we have to fertilize it.”
Kids are a delight. If they don’t make you laugh, you have an acute case of dry boneitis. Proverbs 17:22 tells us that “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” My friends Paul and Judy lost their only child Janella in a car crash. On her tombstone they put this, “Warning: Site of future resurrection.” The promise of eternal life should give us more than enough reason to grin and give thanks. Would you go ahead and laugh today? You have my permission. I’m sure you’ll find something to help you. I’ve already found mine. Just across the page from the razor ad was a headline: Dentist receives plaque.
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