She is often called Little Sweetie Pie. She loves knock-knock jokes:
“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“Pooh.”
“Pooh, who?”
“That sure was stinky.”
Following a joke like this, Little Sweetie Pie throws back her head and there is a cascade of laughter, followed by another knock, knock joke, and another, and another.
It isn’t unusual for a 5-year-old to behave like this, but there’s something extra clever and unique about Little Sweetie Pie’s humor.
“I know who I get my humor from,” she’ll wisely state.
“Oh, who is that, my Little Sweetie Pie?”
“Uncle Evan,” she affirms giggling.
What is unusual about this idea is that Little Sweetie Pie has only seen her second cousin, aka “Uncle Evan,” probably about four times in her life. He lives 700 miles away. But something fun and funny has resonated with her about him. Knowing them both, I have to concur that the sense of humor must come from the same gene pool.
Humor is a great gift. And how an adult impacts a child can be life changing, even if it comes in small bits of time or just one encounter.
When I grew up on a farm we had a farm hand named Fay, who lived with us through spring’s planting and fall’s harvest. He was my masculine Mary Poppins, blowing in when the snow melted and then, driving away one cold, autumn morning. He never said good-bye to me. This happened the first 12 years of my life. Fay was like a grandfather. I still remember sitting on his lap as we silently watched the rain drip down the living room window. He once caught me a giant moth that I kept in a mason jar. I often watched him shave at the sink in our garage, and sometimes, after he wiped away the shaving cream, he’d let me feel his smooth cheek. I still love him.
For Little Sweetie Pie, Uncle Evan is a caring adult, attentive to her when he sees her. The humor connection just makes the relationship a little more special.
Little Sweetie Pie is off to public kindergarten soon. I hope the powers that be don’t squelch her fresh perspective on life, which brings many smiles and merry laughter.
I also pray there will be good mentors for her and all the children in our culture who have such a difficult road to hoe in these troubled times. Children need wholesome adults, besides their parents, to be good examples of living life well. May each of us intentionally bring humor, kindness, and love to the children in our lives, whenever we can.
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