Visit #6

THE HUMOUROUS TRUTH

Sibling relationships have long been analyzed by child psychologists.  More specifically, how they cooperate, how they manage conflict and how they play with one another. Curiously, one area not studied as much is the humor element siblings bring to one another.  For me it’s simple, my learned behavior of humor most definitely came from my large family of 9.  Moments of comedy and absurdity were just part of our everyday life.  Love God, love one another and have a sense of humor.

Of course, having funny parents helps.  Our Dad was a larger than life (both figuratively and literally) kind of guy.  Growing up in Westchester County, NY he enjoyed a charmed life of doting parents, private schools, and a summer house on the Connecticut shore. It was maybe this happy childhood that somehow laid the groundwork for the infamous funny storyteller he would be known for later in his life. Our mother on the other hand was raised on a rural farm in Maine where on her 15^th birthday one of her gifts would include the long-awaited joy of indoor plumbing.  I imagine standup comedy would be tough practiced in an outhouse but somewhere along the way she picked up the wickedest funny dry New England Yankee sense of humor only fully appreciated by those who have grown up around a wicked funny dry New England Yankee sense of humor.  I guess opposites do attract because our parents and their vastly different backgrounds were living testimony to it.  I’d like to believe their shared love of laughter helped them through not only their 53-year marriage but also the raising of six daughters and a son.

Of all the siblings, Suzi was not only the first born she also held the life long coveted title of being the funniest. Our only brother, the youngest, has consistently run a very close second with his sharp, one liner wit, but even in her death she still reigns supreme.  Side-splitting, hour-long hysterics were her specialty.  She had an uncanny talent to retell any family story from years past by taking it to exaggerated heights while role playing every relative and capturing their voice and mannerisms perfectly. She was brilliantly hysterical.  She was an instigator of fun as well.  Like many families of our time, we ate together regularly and the clearing of the table and the doing of dishes were always the kids responsibility.  One night as our father sat at his head chair enjoying his after-dinner cigar, Suzi goaded us into a game of whoever could blow the dish soap from the kitchen closest to his chair in the dining room without him noticing would win. We got it pretty close before his reaction of noticing the floating bubbles was funnier than the game itself.  She was witty funny as well.  Owner of a small weekend apartment in NYC she would often lecture the rest of us the importance of staying aware of our surroundings while visiting.  Once, while telling her the story of how my college roommate and I almost lost her daughter in the busy subway station at Grand Central, Suzi was unusually quiet on the other end of the phone.  “Are you still there?” I asked thinking we had gotten disconnected. She deadpanned back “I wish I wasn’t– I’m breaking out in hives just listening to this story.”  LOL

I have yet to meet the perfect family, we certainly weren’t.  But I do believe the sense of humor instilled in us while growing up lead us each to have a more positive attitude in life. And I’d like to believe the (mostly) good natured ribbing toward each other toughened us up a bit as well.  Whatever the intent of our parents, it paid off. We are a funny bunch who miss our funniest each and every day since she left.  There was a short time we thought we’d never laugh again.  But we have.  And we have passed that love of laughter onto our next generation who are turning out to be funnier than we were! Wealth and fame may be for some, but I choose our legacy of laughter mixed with a whole lot of love and the knowledge that no matter what:

“No one will ever be quite as entertained by us as us.”

Suzi, we have just celebrated another Siblings Day and it’s hard to imagine you have been gone almost 5 years, but your stories are timeless and when we are together we remember and still laugh so hard.  Thanks for leaving us that very special part of you!