Have you ever had one of those weeks? A time when you needed a laugh to help you get through the days? For anyone who has, join me in celebrating “Someday We’ll Laugh About This Week” which is held January 2-8. I love the idea of leaving regrets behind and looking toward a promising future with more laughter. As we gather and talk with family and friends this month, I hope you can leave any worries behind and have fun sharing funny memories and stories. Here’s a sampling from my family.

Over the holidays, my daughter and I shared a memory of being together when her son, Glen, laughed for the first time. I was helping change Glen’s pants in a restaurant’s bathroom when my daughter sang out, “Chicka chicka boom boom” and swooped in to tickle his bare belly. Glen’s eyes sparkled, and he threw back his head and laughed. The laugh was full-blown, hearty, and irresistible. His mom and I laughed, which got him laughing even harder.

Prompted by this story, we shared more. My son-in-law told a favorite memory about their younger son, Benjamin. After setting a piece of homemade fudge on the two-year-old’s plate, Benjamin went after it with gusto. My son-in-law tasted it too and commented to my daughter that he thought the chocolate might be too dark. That’s when Benjamin, jazzed up from the sugar, eagerly popped in another piece and said, “It’s not too dark for me!”

More stories poured out, and we discovered that while our eldest, Jon, was babysitting and in charge of making supper for him and his sisters, he taught them how to test if spaghetti noodles were cooked enough. The test was to toss them at the ceiling and if they stuck, they were ready.

I had so much fun with these stories, I pulled out the spiral notebooks I kept containing memorable moments with the kids and found some more gems.

Our daughters were picking a fight in the car. Finally, the elder whined, “Mom, Heidi’s being obnoxious.” When I asked what she was doing, Heather said, “She’s imitating me.”

Another time Heather was supposed to be practicing the piano, but it sounded like she was just pounding on the keys and I scolded her. Then I glanced at the music. The title was “Freight Train.” 

I had lost patience with my daughters’ stream of complaints and dictated that for every future grumble, they’d spend a minute in time out. A short time later, they started up again. “I said, “Heidi, is that a complaint?” Heidi’s answer back: “Mom, are you complaining about my complaining?”

Heidi was famous for her one-liners. Here’s a sample.

• My husband took her to the dentist for a cavity. As the dentist paused between drilling, she looked at her dad and said, “This is getting serious.”
• With her face smeared with chocolate, I told Heidi, “Wait until I get a washrag. Don’t touch anything.” Her eyes gleamed. “You mean touch nothing?” I nodded. Reaching out in the air, she said, “I touched nothing!”
• When I told Heidi her boots were on the wrong feet, she simply crossed her legs.
• My husband warned the girls about traipsing in and out with dirty shoes. When he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, he used his deep voice to scold. “Who’s coming up those stairs?” No answer. So he investigated. When he spotted Heidi, who was familiar with her grandmother’s hearing problem, Heidi answered, “I must have had my hearing aids turned down.”
• When Heidi developed conjunctivitis, we told her she had a cold in her eye. She answered, “Well, at least it isn’t coughing.”
• She converted a Sunday school song with the lyrics, “I sing when the spirit says sing” to “I fart when the spirit says fart.”
• Grandma told Heidi not to eat an apple because she hadn’t washed it yet. “We wash everything before we eat it,” Grandma said. Heidi quipped back, “We don’t wash ice cream.”
• We were discussing the news that a famous comedian had died. Heidi said, “He probably laughed his head off.”

Here’s hoping that if you have worries, someday you’ll laugh about them. And if you need a break from your troubles, gather your family and friends, share some of your funniest memories, throw back your head, and laugh.