A little smile

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. --Yiddish Proverb

If laughter is the best medicine, Mom is getting some good medicine this week. I'm convinced we have a biological drive to giggle at silly things when our bodies are under extreme stress, because we all get a little punchy after hours in the hospital surrounded by bad news and worse daytime television. We have had a few funny moments this week, and we were rewarded with smiles and whispered comments from Mom that make her seem like her old self.

Back in the good days, our family dinners often were punctuated by pun fests; something would get us started, and we would try to outmatch one another with increasingly bad puns. Usually it was a battle between the sisters, with Mom rolling her eyes and Dad threatening to make us leave the table. So it felt good last night, standing around Mom's hospital bed and holding our plates of spinach frittatas, when somehow we got into a pun fest. I think Dad started it, and he and Jennifer traded volleys for quite a while. I was completely stumped and couldn't think of a thing to contribute, but I noticed Mom smiling with her eyes closed.

Then this morning, while Dad helped Mom with breakfast, Jennifer and I debated ideas for new businesses as we often do (but never actually pursue.) Her idea was to open a shop to offer custom bra tailoring. Brilliant, right? The conversation went something like this:

Sara: "What would you call it? You have to have a good name to get started."

Jennifer, pondering: "Hmm. How about 'Nip and Tuck?'"

(Giggles ensue.)

Sara: "That's perfect. You need a backup name, just in case that's taken. How about 'Boob and Tucker?'" (A play on "Bib and Tucker," the shop where our grandmother worked as a saleswoman and tailor.)

(More giggles ensue.)

Mom looked at Dad, with an exasperated whisper: "Your daughters!"

Two little words, meaning so much more, and they were music to our ears.