Don’t Forget to Laugh

Michelle:

Isn’t it refreshing to think that something as simple as laughter can support your marriage and help it thrive? Here are some tips for bringing a dose of laughter into your relationship.

Tip 1: Look for accidentally funny moments.

One evening our daughter told us that her driver’s ed teacher was mean because he laughed at her during class.

Taryn: My teacher asked if driving is a difficult and thought-provoking task? I said that driving is pretty simple because you just put the prindle in D and go.

Us: Prindle?

Taryn: Yeah, you know where the stick thing is. P-R-N-D-L.

Tip 2: Never take yourself too seriously.

Chris:

When driving to a restaurant to watch our Sooners play an away game, the skies began pouring rain. Being a gentleman, I offered to drop Michelle off at the door while I went to park. She scoffed at my gesture, telling me that she wouldn’t melt. As we were walking towards the entrance, Michelle found an enormous puddle. Before I could think, she jumped in that puddle and completely soaked me. For ten minutes, we carried on this water fight before finally going inside to watch the game.

Tip 3: Serious stuff can be funny.

Michelle:

Taryn came home from school after “the talk” (where boys go in one room and girls in another) with concerns. Our conversation went as follows:

Taryn: I need to talk to you. I’m worried, I don’t want you to die.

Me: Die?

Taryn: Yes, I am afraid you will die from electrical shock.

Me: Electrical shock?

Taryn: Yeah, you know the electrical shock from using tampons.

Me: Toxic shock?(trying unsuccessfully hard not to laugh).

Taryn: Yeah that.

Chris: (yelling from the other room) Don’t go out in a rainstorm!

CHRIS:

Tip Four: Try catastrophizing.

Chris:

When things seem like they are at an all-time low, ask yourself, “How could this be worse?” When trying to return home from vacation, our flight was delayed which caused us to miss our connecting flight. This kept us in the Denver airport an extra three hours. Upon hearing the news of our layover, I plopped down next to Michelle, feeling defeated.

Michelle: Well, it could be worse if we were hungry.

Me: Only if all the restaurants were closed.

Michelle: Yeah and there was just lone vending machine.

Me: And all it had was Mounds bars (we both dislike coconut).

We played this out, back and forth, until we were both laughing.

Tip Five: Look back on it and laugh.

Michelle:

When Chris’ father passed away, we struggled to find humor in anything. At dinner one night, Taryn said, “Remember when Grandpa…” That night we traded “remember when” stories until our sides ached and our laughter tanks were full.

Laughter positively impacts us by diffusing stress, enhancing problem-solving skills and elevating our moods. Consider how you, as a couple armed with laughter, might impact others to see the joy and fun in marriage.