The Laughter of Children

I used to have a small, pastel-colored pottery jar. Etched on it were the words: The Laughter of Children.

I'd originally seen one at a friend's house and commented on it. SA few weeks later, she surprised me by giving me one.

I loved that jar. Sometimes I would take the little cork lid out of the top and pretend I heard echoes of my children's laughter flowing out from that tiny pottery jar.

• My son's laughter as he and his dad wrestled in the living room.


• My daughters' laughter as they giggled in their bedroom at night, instead of going to sleep.


• The kiddos' laughter whenever we played a card game. I don't know why UNO produced laughter--it just did. At first, little giggles. Then, outright uncontrolled gales of laughter that overtook the whole family.


• Sibling laughter that dissolved into tears whenever we watched old Dick Van Dyke tv shows or Jerry Lewis/Dean Martin movies.


• Christa's laughter whenever her older siblings play with her--fueld by her outright, delighted joy.

When my first three children hit the teen years, my husband and I adopted a plan to maintain good relationships with our children. One of the things we did was to laugh with our children as much as we could. 'Cause if you're laughing with someone, you can't stay angry with them.



Well, one day that pottery jar got knocked off the counter. It broke into too many pieces. Irrepairable. I've looked for the past several years, but I've never found another one.

Tonight, I heard my two daughters giggling upstairs in Amy's bedroom. Katie Beth moved out of their old bedroom more than a year ago. She was just over visiting. How odd to realize my daughter comes to visit.

I remembered how, when they were younger and giggling and talking way past their prescibed bedtime, I warned them to"Be quiet. Settle down. Go to sleep."

Tonight I just enjoyed their laughter.

The laughter of children.

Something to be treasured.