One of the things that attracted me to Mike when we first met was that it was so easy to make him laugh. Nothing has changed He has a great sense of humour and I always appreciate him seeing the funny side of life. We often laugh together and it makes marriage a whole lot easier.
Jong Frau Joch, 2011
Stacey was just a tiny tot when Mike and I had a bit of a spat. As usual I can’t remember what it was about, but I do remember Mike getting very cross and raising his voice at me. It didn’t happen often and it was really out of the ordinary, especially for little Stacey who couldn’t have been more than 2 or 3. She was witness to this little argument and when Mike raised his voice, there was a stony silence on my part. The pregnant pause was cutely interrupted by Stacey who in a very serious tone said “Daddy’s naughty!” We both packed up laughing. What an icebreaker that was. It was also a lesson that little ears were attentive to what we were saying and how we were acting – it was a reminder to take any heated discussions behind closed doors.
As our children grew up they were a constant source of amusement, to the point that I kept a book of some of the things they have said. Here are a couple of my favourites.
- Stacey, quite proudly: “My Mom can swim like a whale”.
When I was heavily pregnant with David, it was Christmas time and we had quite a few in-house guests. As I was getting undressed, Stacey walked out my bedroom leaving the door open. I called “Stacey, close the door”. She asked why, then answered her own question by saying “Oh, everyone will see you and say ‘WOW, your clothes are off!’” They sure would have.
David had a knack for howlers. Here are two of his:
- David holding one foot in his hand: “Is this my feet, Mom?”
- Mom: “ No that’s your foot”
- David: “Oh, I have two foots”.
- Mom: “No, you have two feet!”
Poor child! Try work that one out!
- David, after a visit to the vet: “Can God fix cats?”
- Mom: “Yes, He can”.
- David: “Does He have a cage to put them in?”
The other important aspect of seeing the lighter side of life is being able to laugh at yourself. This brings me to my 2 of my most embarrassing moments. The first when I went down a water slide & lost half the top of my swimming costume, much to the amusement of a wide-eyed family of strangers witnessing the event.
The second was even more embarrassing because it displayed my shocking lack of direction. I went on a “fun” mountain run and took the wrong route. By the time I finally returned, the organizers were on the point of sending out a search party. I grovelled like I’ve never grovelled before. They are cause for amusement now, but at the time, I suffered severe humiliation.
Life is short though and humour is important in getting us through the years sane and happy. Smiles and laughter should be part of everyday life.
Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Keep the smile going!
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂