Growing up my older brother was always the funny one. But really he isn’t. I am. OK, so maybe he is actually pretty funny, but I still feel that I was not fully appreciated. Perhaps its due to the fact that I can tend to be serious at times. But I have discovered that finding the fun in everyday life is pivotal . Humor is a vital element in creating an emotionally vibrant home. So here are 3 ways humor and laughter bring joy into the home!
3 Ways Humor and Laughter Bring Joy into the Home
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Humor Cuts Tension
Laughter and humor can cover a mountain of tension. When we can gently poke fun at one another or make a joke during a tense conversation it helps us to take a step back. Humor can help us see that while living and putting up with each other differences can be a struggle it is worth all the inconveniences. Humor can help us remember a past incident that was funny throwing some perspective on a current disagreement.
When we are upset are whole body tenses. People often complain of headaches, back aches or upset stomach when they are stressed and tension filled. When we laugh we naturally expel some of that emotional strain. Laughter enables us to take a breath, release the stress and focus more on the positive
Laughter Creates a Home that is Joy Filled
Laughter is a vital element in a healthy emotionally vibrant home. Laughter equalizes the hard times in life. For example, when we are raising kids there are going to be plenty of negative interactions. Especially during the tween and teens years, we are going to have conversations where we are disagreeing with our kids or telling them “no” on something they think they want to do. If those are the only interactions we are having life will be pretty yuck.
However, if there is also plenty of laughter and humor we have a joy filled home. Homes filled with laughter may include great conversations around the dinner table where we are telling a funny story. We may play jokes on one another. In our home, my daughter and I love to give our animals voices and make up their responses. Or we pretend our chickens are getting into all sorts of escapades and troubles.
Humor Breaks the Perfection Bonds
When we have a good laugh at ourselves it makes life more fun and it also puts others at ease. Humor can also create a closeness as we laugh over a shared personal joke.
When I was a flight attendant, I worked on planes that had seating for 50 passengers and one flight attendant. So if I messed up all eyes were on me. That was hard at first. I like to at least appear to know what I’m doing. But I found that if I did make a mistake the best thing to do was just go with it. If the plane landed in my 4th city of the day and I couldn’t remember where I was I would just ask the people in the front rows. The passengers would all have a good chuckle as they saw me pause mid my welcome announcement to ask where I was!
This summer, College Boy worked in several new cities, one of them with a French name. Of course, no one actually uses the French pronunciation other than ahem…College Boy (Yay for learning French!). We tried to point it out that he was probably not pronouncing it right. But he was undeterred. But several weeks later he sheepishly admitted that we were indeed right. So now if we mess up and do something dumb around our house, another family member will holler out the name of the city in reference to the big goof for the summer!!:) We are super supportive like that!
Read more about my life, a city girl married to a country boy, here in, Help, There’s Something Dead in My Trunk and Other Signs You Married a Country Boy.
Do You Have Humor and Laughter in Your Home?
Do you all laugh and have fun in your home? Sometimes it can be as simple as just relaxing and hanging out together. Other times we might need a little motivation.
We love to watch Tim Hawkins DVD’s and YouTube videos in our house. He is a hilarious and family friendly comedian. His I’m No Rockstar and Just About Enough DVDs are some of our favorites. His DVDs also make for awesome gifts for teens (that don’t cost over $200, you know what I’m saying!).
Several of our kids also love the You Gotta be Kidding book that asks some crazy, would you rather scenarios. The books always seem to lead to some interesting conversations and plenty of laughter. Note: This is a kid friendly version.
And for the mom that needs a good laugh buy Jen Hatmaker’s For the Love. This hilarious book gets real about life and poking fun at the every day ridiculous of being a mom!
Hey, is life a little hard right now and you could use some support and maybe a laugh? Join the Reluctant Cowgirl here! You will gain access to the Resource Library plus receive my weekly personal notes highlighting anything you may have missed that week.
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Thank you for pinning and sharing:)
Heather bee says
Great article, Miranda! I think we can all use a reminder to laugh more:) And I think I know exactly which town you’re talking about. When I first moved to Ohio, I made the same mistake and remember getting the strangest looks from people;) Finally, my husband set me straight haha!
Miranda says
Hehee! It is funny all the certain customs and way people pronounce their city! Yes, I have learned a lot about trying to laugh more…still have some more to learn. But I definitely see how effective it can be in drawing a family closer together.
Misty | Simple Organized Lifestyle says
Yes, laughter really is the best medicine. Some of our best times as a family is talking about our favorite funny parts of a movie or being silly, I agree with this wholeheartedly! Thanks for sharing!
Miranda says
Misty, oh we love retelling movie lines!! That is the best. Sometimes my kids crack me up more with their acting out the movie than the actual movie:)
Nancy Reynolds @RAisingTeensToday says
Love this! And, so very true! In our house, we laugh at life, ourselves and occasionally each other! it’s what keeps us close, helps us get through the ups and downs and keeps us all grounded. Thanks for the reminder and tips – life is FAR too short to be serious! 🙂
Miranda says
Hi Nancy, Thanks for much for commenting. Yes, humor does do a great job of keeping us grounded! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Holly Duquette says
We have a lot of laughter in our home. I think sometimes if you don’t laugh you will cry. Parenting is hard and laughter is a great way to build bonds with your kids and to make it through these difficult teen years!
Miranda says
Hi Holly,
Yes, sometimes it is a struggle to try to gain perspective and laugh about things that parenting throws at us! So glad to hear that you all find laughter builds bonds in your home too! Thanks so much for sharing:)
Karen from LIghtly Frayed says
I love everything about this, Miranda. You know my heart beats for lightening up tough conversations and tense moments with laughter. Thanks for the reminders of the therapeutic value of a chuckle. So fun to pop over to your site this morning.