The Gift of Humor: Growing Up in My Family

I was showing Mom my arms and asked, “Do you think my arm muscles are more visible yet?”

Mom instantly trolled me: “Your dumbbells are like two bananas. You think you can build muscle with those?”

Just like how Dad trolled Mom: “The strawberries Mom grows are as big as mustard apple seeds!”

Humor Genetics in My Family

Original:

• Mẹ thấy cơ tay con hiện rõ chưa?

• Hai quả tạ như hai quả chuối ấy mà đòi cơ.

• Bố: Mẹ trồng dâu tây to bằng cái hạt na ấy.

When I was very small that I barely remember anything from that time, we lived in a small, humble house. My parents could only afford cheap food, but we were rich in laughter. Dad and Mom often teased one another and got me involved, something like this:

Dad: “Mai, please save me, save me!”

Mom: “Mai, save me!”

I can’t recall everything clearly, but those memories have stayed with me for as long as they can, resurfacing as often as they can.

As I grew up, I learned that almost everyone in the extended family (by this I count my grandparents' big families) has a great sense of humor, which is a very good skill for going through life.

Don’t overanalyze everything too much.

Have a positive perspective and make everyone laugh together.

One special occasion I remember vividly was the evening after my grandfather’s funeral (dad of my dad). I was 11. The whole family had just finished all the rites and necessary procedures. With my grandpa now peacefully at rest, we all gathered together. We talked about the funeral ceremony and everything that had happened—kind of like a review meeting. There were so many stories and conversations that had us laughing really hard.

It might sound strange or even illogical—we were still carrying the pain of losing our loved one—but we laughed as if it were a fun occasion.

That’s just how we coped.

Sometimes, things that feel completely natural (or default) to me—growing up surrounded by people with a great sense of humor who don’t take life too seriously, regardless of whether they were poor or rich—are not normal everywhere else, as I once thought. It’s such a privilege, and I am very grateful for it. This has also greatly nourished who I am and who I am striving to become.

And here is another note of mine

Don’t take yourself too seriously. Find humor in every situation. I wouldn’t mind being even more hysterical if it means I can bring more laughter to the people around me.

“If you step back, everything becomes pretty funny.” - a quote I read/ listened somewhere.

Also, I know I say this a lot, but sometimes I am my own muse.

I don’t even need to look at myself in the mirror every day or set a picture of myself as my phone wallpaper (which I’ve never done), but I am indeed my own muse on many occasions.

This isn’t something that happens just a few times. This is a state of mind.

Live your life, but have fun along the way. Always.

Vui cũng sống và buồn cũng sống. Vậy cứ vui mà sống.

Living happily or living sadly, it’s still living. So you might as well live happily.

You gotta live anyway—happy or sad. So you might as well live happily.

Sống tử tế. Sống chân thành. Sống lành mạnh. Sống thịnh vượng. (My own slogan.)

And sống sâu sắc (the idea I learned from TNH).

Live kindly. Live honestly. Live healthily. Live prosperously.

And live deeply.