T.S. Eliot tells us that April is the cruelest month. But how can a month with lilacs, forsythia, and a fun holiday be mean?
This day always reminds me of one I lived through during a very rough patch. I was a newly single mother who’d sent my oldest children off to school and didn’t give the silliness of the day a second thought. That is until my phone rang that evening with my breathless friend on the other end.
“Is it true?” she gasped.
“What?”
“Are you having another baby?”
“WHAT?”
Mind you, the youngest of my five children was nine months old. Where in the world did my friend ever get that idea?
It turns out that my ten-year-old daughter told her school friend this bit of news. And the friend reported the shocking news to her mother.
It took us a few more minutes to figure out that the day was April 1.
My daughter, whose world had turned upside down in the previous few months rallied her heart for a bit of humor. She told a story that, because of history, her friends would believe.
And she let the rest of the day pass without saying, “April Fools!”
A heart baptized by fire found a way to make us all laugh.
Seek humor today. You just may brighten someone’s day in a most memorable way.
This is a day when I pray for wisdom. Laughter can be a great healer, and there are jokes that are enjoyed by one and all. But there are others that might not be so funny for someone. I’m glad this mom enjoyed your daughter’s joke.
Thanks and God bless!