Written in 2013

At a recent Relationship LifeLine, one of our assignments was to go have fun- silly fun, dumb fun, the kind of fun you talk about at dinner parties and laugh all over again. So why the frivolous homework? Because all too often, we forget that laughter is the best medicine.

What happens in WAY too many relationships is that life blurs out the giggles. Our burdens conceal the joy and we become weighed down by the chaos and forget that laughter bonds and brings us closer together.

One of my favorite characteristics about my husband was his propensity for fun. My man was a crazy fun guy willing to do just about anything to a baby smile, a team chuckle or a wife to shake with hysteria. I specifically remember a Harlem Shake video he danced in with a few male neighbors that might have been the best record yet! My girlfriends and I fell off our chairs as our men pranced and danced and made us swoon.

I love laughing with my husband and when our relationship suffers, laughter is usually the first things to go. When we argue more than chuckle, I know it’s time for a getaway weekend to connect, be intimate and once again find our funny bone.

According to Dr. Les Parrot – Relationship Expert, “Any good friend will tell you that laughter is the shortest distance between two people – especially in marriage. But one never knows what’s funny to others. In a survey of over fourteen thousand Psychology Today readers who rated thirty jokes, the findings were unequivocal. ‘Every single joke,’  it was reported, ‘had a substantial number of fans who rated it ‘very funny,’ while another group dismissed it as ‘not funny at all.’ Apparently, our funny bones are located in different places. Some laugh uproariously at the slapstick of Larry, Moe, and Curly-Joe, while others enjoy the more cerebral humor of Woody Allen.”

This means that every couple may share a similar sense of humor or they might have to work a little harder on figuring out what the other finds humorous. I know I think my husband is hilarious and yet sometimes I night be the only one laughing at his jokes and vice versa – but for him (and for me) that’s all that matters. We find each other funny and this strengthens our relationship.

Wherever your humor lies on the continuum of giggles, always remember: laughter, on a daily basis, is an investments to your marriage. And it’s worth acting like a big goof for!