“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”
– Victor Borge
Laughter is one of the best unifiers of people. Intimate conversations can give us understanding, and shared experiences often build neighboring memories, but laughter ties our moments into a gift—not because of what we laugh at, but because we laugh.
As grandparents, we often laugh at babies who giggle or jiggle in belly laughs. Our grandchildren find sources of fun in silly faces, wacky clothes, or words mispronounced accidentally or on purpose. Whatever begins the laugh, it ends with a lighter mood and shared smiles.
It isn’t easy to engage my older grands when they spend more time on their phones with friends than with Grandma. But recently I have enjoyed tickling them over some texts. When I was texting “I love you” with heart emojis, I would only occasionally get a response back. Lately, I collect riddle jokes on TikTok and pass them on to the grands who text.
My plan seems to be working!
I send out a riddle joke and then wait for their answer or their “idk” (I don’t know). When I give the answer, I often get back a laughing emoji or a short message. I love it most when they take a stab at the answer. I always encourage them and acknowledge their effort and creativity.
Whatever the interchange, we are having fun. They have to think through the riddle, even when the answer is given, and they are having fun with Grandma. Last week, one grandman had a riddle joke for me:
What is the scariest tree in the forest?
A bamBOO!
I encourage you to plan your own laugh attack, but it’s important to abide by a few rules:
- Never use someone’s hurt as an opportunity to chuckle.
- Giggles at inappropriate times should be silenced.
- If no one is laughing with you, it is time to pocket your laughter. Don’t play the fool.
- Pranks are fun, but they can also be dangerous. Think through all possible problems before pulling a prank.
How do we as grandparents want our grands to remember us?
Maybe we want them to remember we taught them to laugh. We don’t want to be the sourpuss. Surely we want them to remember our smiles.
Read more from Carolynn at Grandkids Matter here.
Carolynn J. Scully is a poet, author, and speaker for Christian women’s groups. She has won awards for her poetry and has published two books. Her book, Something Good Inside of Me, is an award-winning children’s poetry book. Her most recent book, First Moments: Pregnancy Prayers & Ponderings, joins the growth of the baby in the womb to the spiritual life of the child. You can contact her at her Facebook page here for more information. Both of her books are available at Amazon (use the links above) and Barnes & Noble here and here. She and her husband, Patrick, live in Forest City, Florida, and have eight grandchildren.
