.

Christmas night we lay at the feet of the sparkling tree and played a game I had never heard of before. One person read a question and everyone else came up with a clever answer. Then the reader picked his or her favorite and everyone dramatically pointed to the person they suspected of writing it. It was hilarious. 

One was about that historic day, July 20, 1969. 

"What did Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin say before stepping on the moon?"

One response was "Let's compromise. I'll go first and we'll name a Disney character after you." Another was "We are pretending we are on the moon, right?" and yet one more was a standby in my parenting arsenal. "First short, second long," meaning Neil could take a quick first step and Buzz could have a long turn later.  

Another question was "What would make hipsters' lives better?"

"That's obvious."

"If everyone else wore nightgowns."

"Shoe horns for skinny jeans."

Laughter is a crucial ingredient in relationships, including marriage. It does not solve anything, or tease out misunderstandings, but it does lubricate the interactions.