Dear Christine, I’ve got a question for you, but it’s not a laughing matter even though the subject is about laughter.
Growing up, whenever something went wrong in our family, we would have a habit of making jokes and laughing about it. I still do this, even though I am in my 30s.
Unfortunately, this seems to irritate my husband and he acts as if I am ignoring the seriousness of the problem. I have tried to explain that this is not the case at all. I’m aware of the seriousness, but it helps me if I laugh.
My young son is the same and he cannot understand why his dad gets upset. I do not want my son to change and even if I wanted to, I doubt that I could.
I think this way of looking at life is part of his nature just as it is part of mine. I don’t mean to be unsympathetic to my husband’s feelings and problems, but I do not see why a laugh hurts as long as it is not at someone else’s expense. Ours never are.
– R.M.
Dear R.M.,
In these days of high stress because of the strains and trials of life, I would encourage you to keep laughing. Humour is wonderful and perhaps your husband needs to buy into this way of dealing with issues which would otherwise create stress and worry.
In fact, laughter is a healthy way to combat stress and get rid of tension and anger.
It is when we have the certainty about who we are, what we are and what we believe and want, that we can laugh at ourselves and at situations that might cause stress in others.
If your husband knows that you and your son are not laughing at him, but that you are really trying to make problems less sinister and overwhelming, he may eventually be able to laugh along with you. In the meantime, keep laughing.
– CHRISTINE
