The Laughter

The laughter is great! As my two sons run through the house you can hear the pitter patter of their feet. And the laughter: it’s contagious! They go on and wrestle with each other (as every little boy loves to do) right before they run and jump on me as I sit in the King’s Chair (that’s my leather chair with my leather ottoman). We watch Phineas & Ferb and Elijah will sit in the chair with me then Giovanni sits in the chair with us. I gotta tell you: WE NEED A BIGGER KING’S CHAIR!

Then the laughter hits. The show is funny but my two boys are hilarious. They laugh and laugh and laugh. You can’t help but join in with laughter. It’s not a contrived laughter. It’s genuine. It’s innocent. It’s coming right from the belly! My six-year-old imagines so big and describes in great detail what he sees in his mind’s eye and then he just laughs and laughs. My two-year-old speaks, too; I just can’t understand what it is that he’s saying, but he knows. Then he laughs and laughs.

In the mornings, when I am still asleep in bed, my six-year-old comes to my room and jumps on the bed and cuddles with me. Then comes in my two-year-old. He cuddles with me and big brother. Then they start hiding underneath the blankets and laugh and laugh. They wiggle and giggle and they go and go and go all over the king-sized bed exploring and imagining they are in a dark tunnel. Then Elijah attacks Giovanni and Giovanni screams and then laughs.

Then we call for breakfast. They run to the table to get their first boost of energizing food: “Something with sugar, pleeeeeeease!” As we eat they laugh. Giovanni is a slow eater, but he enjoys every part of his meals. Elijah eats like there’s no tomorrow. I sit and have my cup of coffee and Mom eats her breakfast. After we pray together as a family, then we talk and chatter and laugh and laugh.

At night-time, right before they go to bed, after their baths, we read a chapter from The Jesus Storybook by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Every chapter whispers Jesus’ name. And the boys are discovering that there is a Rescuer in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Elijah always knows that He is the Rescuer. Giovanni points at the illustrations and laughs and listens and slowly drifts to sleep. But before he falls asleep, we always pray together…then we laugh at something that one of us says…then we laugh some more…then they go to bed to sleep.

I wonder if they are laughing on the inside while they sleep. I remember as a kid I would dream funny dreams and my Dad and Mom told me that I laughed in my sleep. Now as a Dad, my Cheryl tells me that sometimes I still laugh in my sleep. My prayer is that my two sons will never lose their laughter. The laughter…priceless