Laughter Can Rewrite Family History

Thinking about the month of February and the two holidays that are widely celebrated and/or recognized during this month: Black History and Valentines’ Day, I was compelled to combine the two together for this particular blog.

In observance of black history month, as a society we tend to look back at major accomplishments that African Americans obtained down through the years. We marvel at people such as, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman, and Maya Angelou to name a few. I too celebrate them and so many others for their hard work, dedication, and passion toward their cause. I believe that reflecting on the past is great, whether it’s in observance of Black History month or any other holiday set aside to honor those that have paved the way for you and me. I also believe that history is written everyday by you and me; every single day we are paving the way for someone, whether we are aware of it or not. As a husband and father, I frequently think legacy. It’s at the forefront of my mind. It’s not a day that goes by that I am not thinking how I can greatly improve the legacy that I am creating for my family. 

This leads me to the love holiday, Valentine’s Day. For many, love and bliss is in the air the moment February 1st makes its entrance. People are thinking about what to do for that special someone in their life. They may ask themselves what should I get them this year? For a moment they may travel down memory lane to mentally view their historic purchases. Once the trip down memory lane has concluded, the hunt is on. Or maybe I’m the only one that does that! LOL! Although love month is dedicated to couples, for the sake of this blog I would like to bring in families. 

This month will make my family and I one year anniversary of being a blended family. This is truly worth a celebration. I would be lying if I said it was all peaches and cream. During the past year we have had our share of family woes. There were some days that were just downright overwhelming; I asked myself what the hell did I get myself into? Then there were other days where I loved our new family structure and loved what I’ve gotten myself into. With a new family structure, new rules, new ways of doing things and major adjustments, now looking back I thought to myself what was our antidote. Other than lots of prayer, it was, and still is, laughter!  We are some laughing folks in the house, starting with my wife and me. It doesn’t matter where we are, for some reason we have always found something to laugh at; including ourselves. Our laughter has matriculated down to our children. Our children are laughing little bunnies. Individually we have a sense of humor. But when you get us all together, all 8 of us, it turns into a laughing fiasco.          

This one act has really helped us grow closer as a family, and that is, dining together at the dinner table. Truthfully, this is where a large part of our laugher takes place. I thank God for the opportunity to eat dinner with my family nightly. Dinnertime has become our most intimate time as a family; because of it we have grown stronger. 

As we celebrate Black History Month and Valentines’ Day. Keep mind that you too are writing history by the love and laughter you share….

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