Pass the Laughter Please

Back in the late nineties, a friend from college asked me to write and read something during her wedding service.  I agonized over this a bit, thinking perhaps I was better suited to planning her bachelorette party or donning a pretty pink dress of her choosing than standing before her nearest and dearest and flowering on about everlasting love.  I had only been married for a split-second, and I was in the middle of my I-have-no-real-responsibilities-but-I-am-very-important twenties.  In other words, my experience on the subjects of marriage and life was a tad thin.  However, whenever I thought about this particular couple, a smile just reflexively swept over my face, for they were, and are, two uproariously funny people, just popping and locking through their days with self-deprecation, wit and spunk.  I love that not-taking-yourself-too-seriously quality in people, being slightly prone to seriousness myself.

The following work was written with two side-splitters in mind, but over the years it has been tweaked for and shared with others, including a pair of sunny Californians who got hitched in the Santa Ynez Valley and are godparents to my firstborn.  I often think that if for some reason I cannot raise my own children, then I know that these two will be part of a caring (and assuredly comedic) ensemble that softens the edges and fills my little lights' lives with color (albeit way outside of the lines) because they are no strangers to the better-laugh-than-cry universal truth in which I wholeheartedly believe.

Twelve years of wedded bliss, two children, four dogs, a few moves, a career change or two, and a handful of "crises" later, I do not have the answers, but I do have a story or two to tell.  There is magic in a good soul-shaking chuckle.  Seriously, let's all loosen up, lighten up and laugh a little more.

Pass the Laughter Please

August 1999

An alarm sounds breaking the silence of your slumber

You leave the warmth and shelter of your best friend’s embrace

Your feet hit the floor and the rush begins

A shower, a bagel, two sips of your coffee, a quick kiss and you’re off

Out of the door you’re running to work, bites of a deli sandwich, an afternoon call

Perhaps groceries at the store or a full tank of gas

Pay those bills, sometimes it’s so tough to relax

Prepare dinner for each other, have a glass of wine, watch the shows

Sometimes that’s just how fast one day goes

What’s one to do with so many tasks, chores, errands and responsibilities

Just take a deep breath, together, and say, pass the laughter please

Slow down, tell a joke, tickle your husband, hug your wife

Stay in bed for one more snooze, snuggle for those seven extra minutes

Sit down for breakfast, share your thoughts, kiss for a moment longer

Call each other twice a day, if only to say hello or what’s for dinner

Pick up a treat, cookies or his favorite cheese

Have a conversation in lieu of TV, look at each other

Enjoy youth, flexibility, take advantage of hours you have, even if you think you don’t

You really do have plenty of time right now, and one day you won’t

How’s one to seize all of life’s wonderful opportunities

Just take a deep breath, together, and say, pass the laughter please

A child tugs at your nightgown and whines in your ear, no need for a clock

Late for school, scramble out of bed, dress your child, dress yourself

Eggo waffles and juice, eating on the go, a quick kiss, if you’re lucky

Carpools, buses, work, juggling still, phone calls from teachers

Soccer practice in the afternoon, homework, tests

Best friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, no friends

Winning, losing, growing, changing, all the time learning

Your children will grow, and they will grow fast

Take care to grow with them, make special moments last

How in the world can you keep up with so many memories

Just take a deep breath, together, and say, pass the laughter please

All the days ahead of you will be different, hopefully each rich and full

Whether novel or routine, there will be success and failure

Challenge, questions, answers – love will see you through time and again

If and when you stumble remember your soul mate will break your fall

When you excel that same best friend will smile, hug you, encourage you

Work, children, school, mortgages, car payments, marriages, grandchildren

You will never be alone, never short on things to do

You have friends; you have family; you have lobsters in Maine

And surely you know you have each other in times of joy or pain

How will you find the courage, strength, and energy to endure so many activities

By now you know the answer, by now you have the keys

Just take a deep breath, together, and say, pass the laughter please