By Terri A recently bereaved parent said to me the other night. I laughed today and I felt guilty. Because I laugh and joke and tease about what my son may or may not be doing now, others are sometimes appalled at what they perceive as my lack of respect for those no longer with us. I long ago stopped trying to explain that it is not a lack of respect for my son or anyone else. It is rather a stubborn refusal to become defined by death and an acknowledgment that my son would be making the same irreverent jokes about me.
Laughter is healthy.
Humor is therapy. They are simply another coping mechanism. Some days I cannot stop crying - not necessarily on birthdays that no longer are or death days that loom. I have no idea why. There is simply no rhyme or reason to it, just as there is no rhyme or reason to why we have to outlive our children.