If it Can’t be Laughed About, What is the point?

My grandfather was a very hard-working man and a people person, who couldn’t usually be found not working unless he was taking time for a family event or to sleep. He could usually be found working on a project in his garage or out in his dump truck hauling gravel or loam. When we learned that he had cancer, much of that work had to come to a stop. Due to his sickness and treatments, he found it more difficult to do those things that he loved doing. He often had to lay in bed all day and needed to have others do things for him that used to be easy for him because of his difficulty standing or walking for long periods of time. Usually, all he had for entertainment was the TV. One day he ended up seeing a commercial for this “Giant Vermont Teddy bear” and with Valentines coming up he decided he wanted to get it for my grandmother. My Aunt was living in Vermont at the time so he thought she would be able to pick one up for him and bring it when she came to visit. Since my aunt wasn’t really near the Vermont Teddy Bear factory, she placed the order for him instead and had it shipped as a surprise. He was excited about this purchase and found himself laughing and telling almost everyone about the bear every time the commercial came on when my grandmother wasn’t around.

One time the commercial came on while my grandmother was in the room and she made a comment about the bear saying: “Why would anyone want that great big bear, that’s ridiculous, and that is not worth the price.” He told my mom about what my grandmother had said and my mom discussed whether or not he wanted to cancel the order and he said: “No’, we’ll just carry on with it.” The day the bear arrived, my Aunt was down for the weekend and my grandmother brought the box into their room and a bunch of the family gathered in there to watch her open it. Everyone in the room except her knew what was in it and were already laughing. As my grandmother opened the package and saw what was inside she held it up then everyone in the room, including her, burst out laughing. At the time I had no clue about the bear and this is when I walked in hearing laughing so I asked: “why is everyone laughing” and through laughter my grandmother said: “I’m an idiot.” Even though she didn’t think she would ever want a bear that big, she really loved that bear, she even ended up getting clothes for it and dressing it up, and even though my grandfather was sick, the laughter was still able to happen. This is such a fond memory for all of us and even though my grandfather is no longer with us, the teddy bear still sits in their bedroom and remains a good source of laughter and a good reminder of the kind of person that my grandfather was.

“Machine working in a sand and gravel quarry” by Robin Stott is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

 Additional Image: by author 

 Additional Image: by author