Laugh It Up

Oct 16, 2012 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

 

Yesterday was the anniversary of Jerolyn and my first date. Twenty-nine years and counting since that first date. (BTW, we have been married 27 years, in case you were wondering). I am so glad I got up the nerve to ask, but more than that, I am thrilled that she actually said YES!!!

And in case you are wondering, yes, I definitely married up, and I do know it. Before you start laughing, Jerolyn and I have observed a lot of married couples, and men, I have to say, for the most part you and I are in the same boat. If we really look at it, we will admit it…we did well to “snag such a great catch.”

Looking back through the years, I wonder what makes a great marriage? For many of us we can begin to philosophize about it and have even written about it. Jerolyn and I have a list of values that are the non-negotiables of our marriage. We will talk about these over the course of sharing some of our life together with you, but let me say that a sense of humor has gone a long way.

One of our values is laughter; we have chosen to call it playful humor. You might think, “C’mon, of all the things that are important you say laughter?” We do have others, but know laughter is key to us having such a great marriage. We have committed to laughing with and on occasion, at each other. We attempt to make the other one laugh and enjoy one other. In fact, Jerolyn tells others that my sense of humor, even on our first date, was a big part of the attraction.

• What ways do you try to make things light-hearted in your relationship?
• We have enough challenging times and hard conversations, but what about the laughter?
• When is the last time you two laughed hard together to the point of tears?
• What things do you do to make sure laughter is a key part of your relationship to help you through the good and the challenging times?

I think we get busy with life and forget some of the simple basics of life that cause us to connect on a deeper level. Communication, conflict resolution, and connecting are all critical to a marriage, but laughter helps ease the pain of the serious and difficult times.

Take the challenge to find some time to simply laugh together and allow playful humor to be a key factor in strengthening that bond of the marriage relationship.

And once again, wow, am I sure glad she said yes!

~ Jim