One of my favorite old photos – and of course we were laughing.
If you’ve ever read one of my books, you know I have a penchant for trying to throw in a few laughs between the romantic moments. In some cases, a lot of laughs. I like funny.
Most of the humorous scenes in my books are completely imagined, but there are a few that were all too real. I actually did have to take my boss’s teeth to the dentist once. They were wrapped in a paper towel. I might have dry heaved in the car on the way over.
Totally should have quit that job, in hindsight.
I’m not the only one in my house who loves to laugh. I have two really great kids – Reinah and Truett. Sometimes I put jokes in their lunch boxes just for kicks, and then they come home from school trying to retell them. They are both writing books, too – full of one-liners and comical characters.
When it comes to funny stories, though, my little guy takes the cake. He holds the distinction of not only manning one of our worst laughable moments, but his is also the memory other people bring up when they see us. It’s the stuff of legend.
My husband and I were both on the worship team at church, which was a wonderful thing for us to do together, but it left our kids by themselves. Every week they would sit with one of our friends while we were up on stage.
One of the things my husband and I have in common: We think we could have been rock stars. :) Image from Background vector designed by Freepik
That particular week, our son was sitting in the second or third row with his friend Eliah. Eliah raised his hand to tell the preacher something about his grandpa in the hospital, which was really sweet and heartfelt and could have spawned a chorus of “awwww” sounds. Then my little man’s hand went up.
From my vantage point behind the piano, I think my heart stopped beating. You know how you get that feeling that something bad is about to happen? And even though you don’t know how you know, there’s no denying that you know that you know? The preacher looked back at me for approval, and then to my husband who stood nearby with his guitar, and we both shook our heads emphatically. There was no cute, sweet story lurking in that little three-year-old brain. But the preacher didn’t listen to our implied reason. Instead, almost in slow motion, he turned around and said my son’s name. My innocent, sweet little boy with the blond hair and the dimples in his cheeks smiled, and I couldn’t help but cringe.
“Last night, my dad came out of the closet and my mom pooped her pants.”
It’s impossible to completely hide yourself behind a piano while you’re on stage in front of a crowd of people, by the way. I tried. If you want the accurately deciphered version of my son’s statement, it sounds something like this:
“Last night, my dad jumped out of the laundry room and scared my mom so bad she thought she might pee her pants.”
Not as funny, and definitely not as memorable. While I can’t say that I enjoyed that particular moment while it was happening, I’m kind of happy that it occurred now that we can laugh about it.
Simply Mad – the book where my date with teeth appears.
As an added bonus, know what’s super fun about that embarrassing memory? My little guy is at that age where he’s starting to think he has to look cool. You know, that age where you go to a wedding and he says, “Please, Mom…don’t dance.” As though my dancing is the absolute worst thing in the world.
I try really, really hard to be a good mom. Since he seems to think my dancing’s not up to par, I practice in front of him every chance I get. It’s the responsible mom thing to do, right? I think so.
Hope you all have a fabulous November, you have lots of laughs, and that no one tells you not to dance.
Christina Coryell is the Amazon bestselling author of The Camdyn Series and the Girls of Wonder Lane series. A small-town girl from southwest Missouri, she earned her degrees in English and History from Drury University and does most of her writing with a couple kids climbing on her or loud guitars playing in the background. She thinks every great novel should be built on characters who feel real enough to pass them on the street, and that the best novels induce tears and laughter.
I always love your humor and Camdyn’s humor.
My favorite will always be the toothbrushes.
Love your post!
I have a 3 yr old and I look forward to what he’s going to say next. Kids say the darnest thing.
A house full of laughter is a house full of love. Great post, Christina!
“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. ” Michael Pritchard
I love to laugh. I am so lucky that my family and friends love to laugh, too. Sometimes, the simplest things give us the giggles and that is wonderful. :-)
I love the humor you include in your books and I enjoyed this post about laughter. A joyful heart does do good like a medicine.
I NEED humor in my life and in my books. Thanks for this fun post. I smiled all the way through (and learned a few things about you, as well). I love that your kids are writing books…we need to jump start those creative genes early! Some of our best inspiration comes from real life, that’s for sure. Keep writing! Blessings.
My hubby glanced over my shoulder as I was reading your post, and all that caught his eye was your son’s one-liner, which he read out loud with a question mark at the end. I’m like, what? I was just reading my friend’s post. And he said, whew, you didn’t write it? So, um, yes. We are laughing.
Thanks for the reminder that laughter is good for you. It is important to be able to laugh at yourself.
Thanks for a laugh! I loved the post, especially the last few words.
My eldest never wants me to dance, either. Thankfully, my youngest still not only loves it, but wants to dance with me. So we can often be seen dancing in public. My eldest is the one trying to disappear into the ground.
Fun post. I am planning to read the Camdyn series to my husband and the main reason is because of your humor. I love all kinds of romance, but he especially enjoys romantic comedy. =) And as a bonus, I have an “excuse” to read the series again!
Oh, yeah goodness! Just too cute :)
Oh, that kid! What did you say to him later? And I can only imagine that your husband had to be just as mortified as you. Good times. :D
I finished Simply Mad over the weekend and loved it! You’re really good at romantic comedy, and I sure hope you keep ’em coming.
Thank you Linda! Ah, the toothbrushes. ;)
Thanks Linda! :)
Don’t they?? Sometimes I wish I had written everything down!
Thanks Jill! I always think it’s either laugh or go crazy!
That’s awesome Melissa! I tend to hang on to the friends that laugh right along with me too!
Thank you Ann! Usually if I laugh when I’m editing my book, I know I’m headed in the right direction.
JoAnn, I know you love a quick wit as much as I do! And Truett’s book is called The Flying Pig. :)
That mental image made me laugh, so bravo! :)
That is so true, Merrilee!
Thanks so much Diane! And you’re very welcome.
Have you seen Diary of A Wimpy Kid where the mom is dancing at the side of the stage? That’s how I picture myself some day. :)
That’s awesome Katy! My hubby has read it, and I know a couple other people have had their husbands read it. How fun!
Thanks Marie. I think so too. :)
I tried very hard to explain to him how he told the story wrong, but it was way too late by that point. And yes, my husband was definitely equally mortified. :) I’m really glad you enjoyed Maddie. The first time my mom read her story, she laughed so hard my dad thought she was crazy.
Kids say the darnedest things don’t they? Mine are grown so it’s hard for me to remember any funny moments when they were little. But I do have a 20 month old grand-girl and I so can’t wait to see what she’ll come up with…lol! I remember my mom told me once that when I was younger, I threatened to call my grandma because I didn’t like that she (my mom) told me no on something. My mom didn’t think I knew my grandma’s number, but I did and dialed it! Now that must have been a funny conversation between my mom and grandma :-D