About a year ago, my father-in-law passed away from cancer. For his final months, we helped as much as we could - spending much of our time and energy on caregiving and travel.
We knew it would be difficult, but what we didn't expect was the effect it would have on our kids.
At first, they did really well. But soon we started seeing obvious behavior issues. Uncharacteristic bursts of anger started becoming common. As did defiance.
(Not only were mom and dad's focus elsewhere, but they were also coping with death for the first time.)
And I didn't know what to do.
I tried rewards. I tried praise. And I tried consequences. But nothing changed.
Until one night, I realized: when the heck was the last time we laughed together?
I honestly couldn't remember.
BINGO.
In that moment, the best interest of our family may just be to.....lighten up. Laugh. Smile.
And so, we played a game and laughed until our bellies hurt.
And then we made a promise to have more tickle fights, read more bedtime stories for kids, and make more jokes.
Gosh, you know what happened?
I got my kids back. (Shockingly fast too)
You see, our culture often puts "fun" and "play" on the back burner, but we forget that it's the backbone of happiness.
And it's a lesson I'll never forget.
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