A Necessary Balance: I had to cancel our UGGS (boots) shopping yesterday. Rescheduled for next Saturday due to a previous commitment to my husband to head down to Cape May Point, New Jersey if the weather were good. And so it was. Our daughter handled the delay well but I didn’t. I felt that I had let her down. It keeps me balanced however, the requirement to meet other needs besides those of our daughter. I have a precious son and dear husband, a cat, a dog, patients and family. Even the best of friends and a deserving community. If not, I would never say no to my daughter and she would be a monster and I a blithering idiot.

The Sharp Smart of Wit: Therefore, heading west out of town, we stopped in at our daughter’s apartment. Home from her Complete Cat Clinic job, she was able to visit with us in the red couch room. Her residential staff joined in the chatter, when the approach of the mailman was overheard. Our daughter, a lover of catalogs and other postal detritus, (oops, the postal service may be obsolete a year from now) raced out the back door to check which prompted the staff to relate this anecdote. Apparently, in negotiating a similar move around a small side table earlier she tripped a bit muttering, “I had too many martinis.” Her wit is rapid, the timing impeccable and the content often sophisticated.

Humor demonstrates cultural influences and cognitive abilities. Since a young age, while so much was not kicking in, our daughter’s appreciation for irony, tongue-in-cheek, farce, and unexpected juxtapositions indicated an intelligence beyond her chronological years. She wasn’t limited to concrete thinking and this attribute was noted over and over again by educators, always with surprise and delight. A tremendous asset that makes being in her company especially appealing, it also serves as a never-ending source of entertainment and positive stimulation for her. If humor contributes to health, fingers crossed, she will live a good long life and by association, she will expand the health and happiness of the lives of those of us lucky to be close by her side. How smart is that?

© Jill Edelman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. 2011