June 14, 2023
“What’s the Easter bunny’s favorite place for breakfast? …. IHOP.”
– Ann
Do you know what Adam said to Eve? “It’s time we turned over a new leaf.”
That was Ann’s joke of the day. Every day, she shares a different joke with her friends … and sometimes even with strangers. She has such a large repertoire of jokes she could do stand-up comedy, and her routine would be a lot cleaner and uplifting than most of the humor that’s out there today.
Even though she likes to laugh, she didn’t laugh for a long time after her husband and her son died. She knows there’s no easy off-the-rack solution to grief. Grieving is an arduous and seemingly unending endeavor, and in many ways you never stop grieving because your pain always lies right beneath the surface, waiting to relapse.
However, Ann learned very soon in her healing journey that if she didn’t laugh, she would cry, and sometimes she did both at the same time. Humor often comes from personal pain, and the greatest humorists have known personal sadness. But there’s one important difference. Humor heals.
***
Every opportunity to look on the bright side is a welcome respite from sadness. Just because you’re grieving doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy an occasional joke and a little laughter. While we’re on the topic, what do you call a religious person who sleepwalks? … A roamin’ Catholic.