Humor and Resiliency?

Yesterday I claimed that resilient people have a funny bone and I shared a joke as illustration, one that Pete’s grandmother loved.   If you didn’t read the blog yesterday, you might want to. If not, this post won’t make much sense.

When my husband’s grandmother died, his mother was in the hospital.  He knew he had to go up to her hospital room and tell her of her mother’s passing.  He did not feel up to the task.

As we walked through the long corridors at St. Mary’s Hospital he stewed over how he would break the news.  His anxiety was through the roof. He felt the weight of handling this situation well.

Nothing I said seemed to help, in fact, I think I was making matters worth with my endless suggestions.  Until I had a thought.

“Ok, I’ve got something, I think this will work.”  He looked skeptical but agreed to hear me out.

“Tell your mom that Gram is on the roof and she won’t come down.”

I am not naturally a funny person; I am far more likely to make someone cry then laugh.  But Pete stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me. He allowed the line to sink in and he realized that I was quoting one of his grandmother’s old and oft repeated jokes.  And he completely lost it. We started laughing and could NOT stop.

Neither one of us can remember how we handled the situation with his mom.  But both of us have relied heavily on that shared moment when we were able to unite and laugh together before we had to do a really, really hard thing.

Are you laughing enough?  Do you have people you can share a laugh with in good and bad times?