Laughter is the Best Medicine

Ian and Alec (June 2017)

Abbott and Costello. Luci and Desi. Lewis and Martin. Add to the list of famous comedy duos of all time ... Alec and Ian. 

Almost every morning, for one hour I have these two boys to myself while Daddy runs the older kids to their school. And almost every morning, I have a new unique comedy routine played out before me. All I have to do is be quiet and listen!

Their repartee is quick, witty and relentless. Their non-stop banter fluctuates from banal to hilariously inventive. Their topics are anyone's guess. I've heard jungle animals snarling back and forth in the basement, and young "English" gentlemen holding stilted conversations over eggs and sausage.

Today it was the latter. I have one son (Ian) who loves eggs and high-protein breakfasts. Since his tendency is to get hyper on sugar, it's really the better choice over cereal but takes a little more work. As they say it's better to "teach a man to fish" and feed him for a lifetime, last week I decided to teach him to make his own morning meal. Of course, today he was excited to do it again. Meanwhile Alec hovered over his shoulder giving unsolicited feedback and opinions until he decided to give cooking a try himself!

When they had both settled into stools at the counter with their plates of eggs and sausage, the conversation renewed. "Oh!" Alec exclaimed in his best British brogue, carefully enunciating each syllable with special attention to crisp consonants. "This Alec fellow is a very good cook."

Without missing a beat, Ian interjected commentary in a matching accent of his own. "Although ..." He drew the word out haughtily. "That fellow did have the help of his muh-thah [mother.]" To which statement they both erupted in giggles and pointed fingers at one another with complete loss of English dignity. "You did, too! No, I did not! She helped you with the sausage! Well, maybe the sausage, but I did the eggs! I did the eggs, too!" And so on, and so forth, ad infinitum.

If laughter is truly good medicine, then I've got all the medicine I need! I just need to slow down more and soak it in. Hopefully this little post will help me do just that. :)