The Gift of Laughter

I’ll never forget the day my sister and I pulled up to an intersection listening to Usher “U got it Bad.” I was looking out the window pretending like I was in a music video. Ya know, the normal-- only to look over and see our parents in the car next to us. Before we could wave or catch their attention--we both observed. They were laughing. Laughing so hard. The kind where you start to wipe your eyes because you laugh so hard your eyes water profusely.

I had great parents—like text book good. The kind that if everyone in the world had parents like mine—our world would be a different place. They taught me morals. They showed me what a healthy relationship is. They taught me lessons by example in replacement to words. I will be honest, they haven’t taught me everything—but they have taught me everything that matters. Now that I have kids of my own I often think of what was the most valuable teaching in my childhood as a result of my parents. The first thing that comes to my mind is going to surprise you…it’s not what you would think.

They taught me to laugh.

Our environment growing up was filled with laughter. We joke. We make fun of each other. We justify humor in the most awkward movements. We initiate the humor. We use inside jokes. Make up languages. Laugh until we cry. Cry until we laugh.

I know what you’re doing in your head after reading that. You’re putting a montague together of a perfect family in a perfect environment with ideal circumstances. You’re wrong. We laughed not because everything was perfect. We laughed because it wasn’t. One of the most important parts of appreciating laughter, is knowing that it is truly a gift. The sole ability to laugh in any circumstance no matter where you are at in life--is a gift we GET to experience. A mini temporary vacation in your body and brain where everything even for a rapid moment, is absolutely perfect. A little piece of heaven on earth.

Some people may think this is something innate like there is some kind of predisposition to enjoy and create humor. That’s not true. It is something that needs to be exercised and intentionally put in your day to day life. It is also especially useful if you see it through an example in your life.

That’s where we come in as parents. we have to show our kids the gift of laughter.

I have watched others take parenting SO seriously that it becomes SOLELY that.. SERIOUS. Call me immature (you wouldn’t be the first) but SERIOUS moments are not the most fun moments. Are they inevitable? Absolutely. However, I am 31 years old and they are still cringey as Frank (there is for sure a Frank out there that is cringey). I cannot imagine being a CHILD and being devoured with SERIOUS moments ALL. DAY. LONG.

Don’t forget to laugh. Joke. Be silly. More importantly, don’t forget to EMBRACE the silliness in others. ESPECIALLY in your kids. Let their willingness to be the weirdos they are and not care WHO or IF anyone is judging them remind you of who we are created to be. I know the redundant fart jokes are obnoxious but try not to shame them. Embracing and reciprocating your kids’ silliness is what will make them confident enough to share their humor with others for the rest of their life. This is what my parents did for me. Like seriously, have you seen my Instagram stories? A part of the ability to express humor is being confident in yourself. Yes, you read that right. Humor has a way of producing confidence. Children start out confident in expressing humor. Unfortunately, little by little it declines when others refuse to embrace it.

Laugh, honey. Laugh until you pee your pants. Seriously, if you pee your pants it’s a funny story you can tell someone else and then they can laugh too. I won’t judge you if you pee your pants. God certainly won’t. He loves to watch us laugh just as much as we love to watch our own children laugh.

As a matter of fact, he doesn’t just love to watch us laugh; He created it.

Our god is an impeccable genius in his ability to create perfection. Just look at the benefits of laughter:

-blood flow

-immune response

-relieves pain

-sugar levels

-stress levels

-endorphin boost

-sleep improvement

-cardiovascular benefits

-my personal favorite—burns calories (you know you had a good laugh when your abs hurt)

If I pull up in the car next to you at an intersection… I better see you laughing honey. If I wave--you better not even wave back because your eyes are watering from laughing so hard you can't see.

XoXo,

Bre Nicole