Keep a journal of family funnies.
It is worth your while to keep a journal of the humorous stories that come up in your child’s growing years. I wish I had kept one with diligence, but alas, I did not. Instead, I have periodically sent an email to some family members to brighten their day, thus having a record, which I then have to remember to locate when free time is available. (Not often). My email’s sent folder is very large in volume, so finding my family funnies in it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I recently asked my sister to find ones I’d sent her. She basically laughed at me, having her own busy life, and so this is my needle to search for and find.
Here are a couple I did manage to find:
- Joe told me about why the clouds in his picture were all smiling: “All the clouds are happy because they aren’t raining and getting rid of themselves.” (It turned out that he got the idea from one of the movies they had watched about the water cycle. I assumed it was something he came up with, but it was rather a proof that he was listening.)
- This morning I gave the children each half a popsicle because Abby fell and her mouth was bleeding, and I have found that the best way to get ice on a mouth injury in a child is a popsicle. Anyway, part of Ruth’s fell on the floor, so she disappeared to the bathroom and came back crying. “Mommy, I washed my popsicle and it turned into water. Now I don’t have a popsicle anymore.” I cracked up, and she cried harder. I told her that one day she would find it funny. There’s nothing quite like a replacement popsicle to wipe away the tears!
- Our first extra-curricular sporting activity: Last week was Joe’s first at Tee Ball. My hubby volunteered to help coach the hoard. ‘Team’ would not be a word I would ascribe to the crew of 14 or so 4-6 year-olds who were on the field trying to hit a ball off a stationary tee, unable to catch a ball that came at them through the air, not matter how high or low, and running straight to 3rd base as opposed to 1st, then 2nd, and THEN 3rd….. Regretfully, it was our own son who was the one apparently struggling under the pressure of the imminent acceptance to the Major Leagues, who headed directly for 3rd base after hitting the tee. I mean the ball…. No, I did mean the tee, didn’t I? Truthfully, he did actually hit the ball a few times as well. The difference with the tee they used there was that it was rubber or some other flexible material, so when you hit it, it would wobble about before steadying itself to again be whacked by a little tyke trying ever so hard to make Mom and Dad delighted, and to hear their name above the roar of the crowds. Who seemed to be absent…..
- “Joe, what do you want to be when you grow up?” His reply, “Tall.”
- Ruth, on seeing a picture on a tin with a young man kneeling down in front of a young woman, parents peeping around the corner, said, “I know what he’s doing. He’s inviting her into marriage.”
- After getting punished for something, Sam said, “I wish I could resume myself.”
- The children each spent $1 at the Dollar Tree and got their receipts. I told Abby to take her receipt. When we got to the car and were about to leave, she was very upset. “I dropped my recipe!” she said.
- We went to a local business. The owner, who’s last name was Tucker, was approaching us in his CAT moving machine, and my daughter Ruth said, “We need to move out of the way so we aren’t run over by Friar Tuck.”
Let my lack of having kept a good record of my children’s humorous stories be incentive for you to do so. The funny things children say make us smile, bring joy to us, and let’s face it, homeschooling can be very tiring. Having a lift of spirits from the young voice learning to string together words and their meanings appropriately, can be a wonderful thing, sometimes bringing tears to your eyes as you rock in laughter. It’s worth it. Take the few minutes to record them so that they may be ready for you to look at at any time.
