One day my family was driving home from an outing and my son and daughter were having a conversation in the backseat. My daughter, about 10 at the time, asked, “Why do we laugh?”
My son piped up. He had just learned about this in his science class. He gave a very long and detailed description of how laughter happens in the body. His information was correct but also a tad bit dry.
When my son finally finished, my daughter commented, “Oh, I thought it was because our bodies couldn’t hold that much joy!”
WOW! I was struck by my daughter’s statement. It is one of my favorite things that she has ever said. She is now 20 so that let’s you know how important her childhood saying was to me.
Now every time I hear someone laugh, I think “Oh, they are just overflowing with joy and letting it ring out in the world.”
(After thought- Just so you know, my son is now a mechanical engineer so his description totally matched his personality. My daughter is now an interior designer and artist which matches her unique way of seeing laughter.)
Photo: Pexels- Jill Wellington 40815
Doodads and Doodles 
10 responses to “Can’t Hold that Much Joy”
I was certainly tickled by your depictions of your children! What wonderful questions to ask and I love that their responses also fit their personalities.
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Oh my goodness. I love this. That is obviously a keeper. So glad you captured it! Welcome to SOL!
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I love the idea of being filled with that much joy, Cathy! Thank you for sharing this amazing memory with us. So glad you are here, friend!!!!
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Thanks for the encouragement to give it a try!
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Oh, Jill! As the mom of two kids who are so different, I never would’ve thought that their answers in the backseat could correlate to their future careers. FASCINATING!
Glad you’re joining us this month!
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What a cute only-a-kid-could-ask kind of question! And isn’t funny how things turn out with our kids when looking back at their younger personalities?!?
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So glad that you added that you are a first-timer. Welcome to our wonderful community of writers. Your first slice is a winner. You shared a wonderful story and provided us with the correlation of your children’s thoughts and their present occupations/passions. I have to pause and take that in so I can suppose what my little grandgirls (5 &3) might grow up to be???
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Thanks for sharing this story. Reaching the end, I pictured a proxy for your son using some elaborate, technical, probably laser-guided -ometer to calculate the volume of overflowing joy transmitted via any given burst of laughter.
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What a beautiful memory to capture! I love the balance of the science and art of laughter—and how they fit each of your children so perfectly.
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I loved what your daughter said. Thank you for sharing.
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