Learn to Laugh

Oct. 21, 2020

I once heard a presenter joke that one good thing about her mother having Alzheimer’s was that she didn’t always have to cook because her mother didn’t remember that she had not eaten. That didn’t seem funny to me, and I wondered why she was joking about Alzheimer’s. After my mom was diagnosed, I realized the presenter was not laughing at the illness, but she was finding a way to ease some of the intensity of caregiving.

 I found that I had to learn to laugh also, as I did when Mom asked me if my mother was still living. Inwardly, I was heartbroken that she didn’t know me.  But I told her that she was my mother, then laughed and asked her if she was feeling faint or if she was trying to tell me something. Some of the laughter was so that she wouldn’t feel bad; but it was also to keep me from falling apart in front of her.  I have learned that laughter truly is good self-medication. How has laughter helped you in your role as a caregiver?