Lightening Your Load with Humor
When you make laughter a priority in your life, you'll feel lighter, and so will your children.
Articles within this series
- Overview
- In the Shadow of Guilt
- True or False Guilt?
- Getting Rid of Guilt
- Lightening Your Load with Humor
- Next Steps / Related Information
Tell me what a woman laughs at or about, and I’ll tell you a thing or two about that woman.
Tacked to a two-by-three foot corkboard hanging just above the work space my family often refers to as the Bat Cave are random quotes, cards, photographs, and miscellaneous items that are sure to bring a laugh, if not guffaw, from my lips.
A folksy painted plaque dangling precipitously from the center of the board reads, “I love deadlines! I especially love the swooshing sound they make as they go flying go.”
Now that makes me laugh. (And probably makes any publisher or editor very nervous.)
Tacked next to the plaque is an oversize card that declares, “If you’re not going to snort, why even laugh?” It’s signed by two of my friends who share my oversized sense of humor and appreciation for its miraculous power to heal guilt-scarred hearts and homes. 1
I can look at those two things alone and just laugh and shake my head with a satisfied smile. Now, that’s what I want for you! I want you to replace angst and fear and guilt and depression with the power of laughter. I want you and your children to laugh so hard together you snort! Yes, snort! And I want your heart to be lighter after reading my words—knowing God himself smiles and delights in your home and heart filled with joy.
When you make laughter a priority in your adult life, it will become a priority in the life of your children. And trust me—as a mom to an 18-year old daughter, 17-year old son, and 12 year old your junior high boy, well, the more humor the better!
Here are some suggestions for lightening up as a family:
Laugh Lightener #1: Encourage your kids to tell jokes . . . and laugh with them (the jokes, not the kids!)
For moms whose children are older than seven, you know how important this is. And how excruciatingly painful it can be. Especially when their joke goes something like this:
Child: Knock, knock.
Mom: Who’s there?
Child: What.
Mom: What who?
Child: Dog.
But you laugh. Yes, laugh. And she repeats it five, ten, twenty times and then says, “Hey, Mom! I got a new joke.”
Child: Knock, knock.
Mom: Who’s there?
Child: Dog.
Mom: Dog who?
Child: Cat. 2
But you carry on. Hang on, Mom, it’s worth it. Laughing with your children encourages their creativity, builds their confidence, and keeps the home (and SUV) atmosphere light. And chances are, with time, the jokes really will get better.
Laugh Lightener #2: Laugh at your own jokes (even if others don’t).
I can appreciate the fact that not everyone is going to find me or you amusing. But I’ve never been shy about laughing when I think something I said or observed was funny. And I don’t want any of you to be shy about it either. Seize the power and thrill of being your greatest fan and reap the benefits of a doing so.3
Laugh Lightener #3: Establish a Family “Library” of Quotable Quotes
This one is my personal favorite. I absolutely love it when the kids and I communicate via movie/video quotes. It’s almost like having a secret language that no one else can translate! This is so much fun and knits your hearts together at the oddest, most wonderful times.
Example: My family and I were seated in church one morning (in order of their appearance): Ricky Neal, Rick, Kristen, me, and Patrick. Our pastor was talking about Herod and what a bad guy he was—and while I tried to do my best, well, I was losing interest fast. About that time, an image flashed upon the PowerPoint screen. Now, had I been paying attention to the words spoken leading up to the image, I may have know what was going on. As it was I couldn’t figure out why, Roz, gravely-voiced character from one of my children’s favorite videos, was being projected on the screen before me. But I didn’t need an explanation to do what I did next.
Leaning forward in my seat…just so…I looked down the row to my son Ricky Neal—who was doing the exact same thing only looking at me—and nearly to the second we wordless mouthed the following quote, “I'm watching you, Wazowski. Always watching. Always.”
Oh. My. Goodness!
I don’t think I’ve ever suppressed a snort like I did that morning!
We timed it perfectly: The lean, the eye contact, and the quote. But the killer thing about it all was the fact that me and my son connected with something we had laughed and connected over dozens and dozens of times.
It doesn’t get any better than that, Moms.
So pull out the Veggie Tales DVD’s and start watching. (One of our favorite lines of all time? “How are we clappin? We don’t have any hands!”) Slip in a Silly Songs CD and listen and store away quotable lines (Oh! Where is my ________?!)
Do what your family enjoys and begin to create hearts and minds ready to laugh!