Wonder Where She Got Her Sense of Humor From

The last few weeks since Greg's dad died have been hard. I've known for years now how hard it is to lose someone you love, but I haven't had to see Greg go through losing a family member of his own. He loved my family members that have died but it's different when it's your own father or mother or brother or sister. This is all new to him.

What happens when someone you loves dies (at least for me and some others I've talked to) is that so much changes for you internally - your heart breaks, you mind spins, your body fatigues - and it's overwhelming. But your external life changes very little. You still have to go to work, you still have to go to class, you still need to get gas, you still need to go grocery shopping, you still have to take care of your children, you still need to be nice to other people...you still have to get on with it. The friction created between the two truths is extremely difficult and the pain of it can really eat away at you.

But! In every situation there can be found laughter, and Emma is often the provider of that laughter.

When we were in Hilton Head to visit Greg's mom, Sharon, right after Pete died, we stayed at a hotel down the road from Sharon's house. As you can imagine, Greg was a little stressed by this time. His father just dying and his mother being, um, challenging was finally starting to get to him.

The day finally arrived for us to head home. As we were packing up and getting ready to check-out Greg went and got one of those luggage carts. When he brought it upstairs he was trying to get it through the room door for some reason. Well, it wouldn't fit. He kept backing it up and pushing it forward, but it just kept banging into the door frame. I was in the bathroom area brushing my teeth while this was going on but I could hear it - back and forward and bang, back and forward and bang, back and forward and bang. I peeked my head out of the bathroom area and there was Emma standing there watching him do this. She didn't offer to help. She didn't get out of the way. She didn't say a word. (I think because by that time we were tip-toeing around him a bit) She just stared at him doing this over and over again.

Finally, after banging the cart into the doorframe about ten times, Greg stopped trying and just looked up at Emma with the most frustrated look on his face.

She looked back at him deadpan and with that completely straight face says, "Troubles?"

I nearly gagged on my mouthful of toothpaste and had to duck back into the bathroom to bust a gut laughing.

That kid makes all of life worthwhile.