it is not easy to capture this kind of hilarity in an image
Tonight at dinner, our six-year-old William made a small, silly joke. It wasn’t a particularly funny joke. In fact, it really didn’t make any sense at all.
But apparently he tickled his own funnybone something fierce. Next thing we knew, our earnest, often very serious son was chuckling…and then giggling…and then out-and-out guffawing. Holding his belly, his head rolling back and forth and his cheeks pink, he was so cute and so endearing his laugh became contagious. Jon and I started laughing, too. The harder we laughed, the harder he laughed. Soon we were all wiping tears from our cheeks.
How could something so simple be so hilarious? No sarcasm, no potty humor, no sexual innuendo. All it took to give us the laugh of the year was our son’s sincere delight.
These are the unexpected joys of motherhood–the ones that creep out of nowhere and surprise you with laughter and pride and an indescribable type of happiness that isn’t easily quantifiable but is still very, very real.
What was your happiest mom moment this week?
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I love when the little ones get the laughs like that, they are contagious! And when you finally manage to catch your breath you just look at them and everyone starts laughing all over again!
PS. Love the blue dress.
So funny you should mention the infectious nature of a child’s laugh today. Tonight, we watched up. My older 2 boys excused themselves, on the pretext that they’ve seen it many times. But the laughter of my 4-yr-old drew them back into the room. Even my 12-yr-old commented that the movie was much more fun with a little one laughing out loud.
When my almost-3-year-old returned from a weekend with the grandparents, my 17-month-old tackled and kissed him, and they dissolved in to a heap of giggling boy.
I also have a small son who is reserved about his laughter – and therefore it is one of the most beautiful and cherished sounds I ever hear.
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