We’ve been married 10,958 days. During this time we’ve had the typical ups and downs most married couples have with a few really crappy times. Laughter is the lubricant of our marriage to get us through the day in and day out, especially the crappy ones.
A few examples of laughter allowing our marriage to flow easier include:
Target on drugs: Shortly after our second daughter was born and staying in the NICU, Missy was discharged from the hospital. She was still taking effective narcotic pain medication for recovery from the C-section. She needed some supplies for home, so we stopped at Target. Not wanting to walk, she opted to use a powered scooter to get around the store. Seemed like a good idea until she wedged herself between clothing displays.
She couldn’t move forward, backward or escape. Feeling no pain, talking about whatever she wanted, she worked to free herself while we laughed so hard. Here we are with a new baby in the hospital thinking it’d be a great idea to go shopping with her on narcotics.
Tommy confirmation: They were 44 and 43 with a 4 year old in tow sitting outside in an open courtyard. The hospital did a fine job with the courtyard. Flowing water, gorgeous fountains, comfortable benches. The day was top ten. Not too hot, not chilly, just right. The 4 year old running around and Mom and Dad cannot quit laughing, for they just found out they were pregnant with kid number 4.
During the appointment with the OB/GYN the Dad was looking for any clarification the news couldn’t be true. When he asked, “Are you sure the pregnancy stick tests are accurate?” The doctor laughed uproariously. “Yes, they are always accurate. If anything, there is a chance of a false negative, but never a false positive.”
They sat there in the courtyard uncontrollably laughing retelling the OB/GYN’s response. Part out of fear, part absurdity, but mostly the shared sense of love and timing.
Cutting down tree: I am not a handyman. Growing up, my family never owned their own home. Missy’s did, so she’s taken the lead on ensuring house maintenance is finished. In the last few years, I’ve gotten actively involved, which leads to much laughter.
Last weekend we decided to remove a tree branch. Dutifully, I pull out the ladder, a new tree saw and get my goggles on. Missy and I work through the plan of attack and agree on doing it.
IT WORKED GREAT!
Emboldened by our deftness of tree removal, we set our sights on a bigger, weightier branch running higher into the trees. It mingled through the wires running from pole to pole, but we again discussed our plan of action and went for it. The cutting process went great!
Quickly, we realized it was a bad idea.
“We’re idiots,” I exclaim.
“The internet better not go down,” she yells.
Yep, the branch we cut was wedged between the line bringing the internet into our house. We looked up, looked at each other and just laughed.
For the record, after about an hour of work we removed the branch hanging among the wires without losing the internet or cutting off cable for the neighborhood.
Laughter is a constant in our marriage and allows to not take everything so seriously. When you’ve been what we’ve been through, you know sometimes you just have to laugh.