In order to understand why I am so grateful for C, you would have to go with us tonight to see the new Muppet movie, where we laughed through the whole thing. See, I remember the old muppet show and I clearly remember wondering why it was funny. It was silly, over-the-top silly, stupid even and I truly didn't get it. We didn't watch much TV in my family growing up and even though I think we had a sense of humor, we didn't really do silly. And so I married someone for whom silly is an art form . . . and I've been laughing ever since.
C's humor isn't always silly--it's often dry or ironic or sarcastic, actually--but he can always make me laugh. Actually, when we were in our early weeks of dating, I worried that he would lose interest in me because I was very serious and trust me, not funny at all. I mentioned this concern to my mom and she laughed and gave me the advice that I've relied on every day for the last 26 years: "He doesn't need you to be funny; he wants you to think he's funny." I did and I still do.
So what I'm grateful for, among other things, is a life full of laughter. We took one of our kids' friends on a vacation once and she said, shaking her head, "Y'all laugh all the time." I'm grateful because home is the happiest place on the planet for me and for my children, thanks to C. I'm grateful because I learned to laugh at myself and I learned to let people who love me laugh at me, both of which saved me from a lifetime of narcissistic intensity. Actually, C will often say, "I'm not laughing at you, sweetie; I'm laughing near you." And that always makes me laugh.
That's not even close to being the only thing I'm grateful for in my life with C but it's a really good start.
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