Silly On Purpose

We are ridiculous on a regular basis.

Most recently, I surprised our family with a new game: Caught On Tape.

It’s inspired by clips like this from Jimmy Fallon, and it’s kind of a verbal volleyball. You get a category, and the first person who can’t give an answer gets their face taped in a laughable contortion of their opponent’s choosing.

(Sidenote: sometimes boys who shall remain nameless pretend to have no answers because getting taped is more fun than getting the answer right.)

So we went to McDonalds for Shamrock Shakes, and we laughed it up in a loud and public way.

I do these things on purpose, with a value so firmly imprinted that it’s almost a doctrine. Here it is: laughter is bonding.

When you laugh with someone – especially the deep kind of laughter that makes your makeup run and makes you elbow the person next to you out of sheer camaraderie – there is some kind of endorphin release that bonds you to that person. You’ve experienced strong emotion together.

And when you’ve experienced one strong emotion with someone, you may feel open to experiencing other strong emotions with that same someone.

I want my kids to know that all of their emotions are safe with me.

We laugh together
so we can talk together
so we can cry together
so we can be angry and serious and thoughtful together.

(Thoughtful as in “full of thoughts.” Not as in “considerate.” Though I’ll take that, too.)

It’s an intentional silly. So intentional that I’m willing to put tape on my face. And, as we now know, tape that goes on must later come off.

Our eyebrows took a beating.

(Worth it.)