Kay:

Hi there, Questers. Today is Wednesday, August 18th and this is episode 423. But August 18th is a very special day in our family because today is our parents’ wedding anniversary.

Shi:

Yay!

Kay:

Yay, mom and dad.

Shi:

And as is a tradition we will now sing the traditional happy anniversary song.

Kay & Shi:

Happy anniversary, happy anniversary, happy anniversary, hap-py anniversary!

Shi:

There you go, mom and dad. We know that we will also call you and sing that as will many others in the family. But today is truly a day to celebrate because their anniversary is decades deep, 42 years of marriage today. Our quote to share from mom and dad, Gary and Misty Young is, “Our best advice for a marriage is to laugh and laugh a lot.”

Kay:

Well, our parents, I think are professional laughers, especially when it comes to each other and Shila, and I are so lucky to have grown up in a home where our parents stayed together and worked on their marriage. We got to see demonstrated what it looked like to not have a perfect relationship but to have a relationship that’s worth working for. It really set us up for success in our marriages and understanding just what our parents put forward effort-wise in order to make it work between the two of them over these 42 years. So first off mom and dad, we know you listen, thanks for being such an inspiration.

Shi:

I know. You guys are incredible and amazing, and we know we tell you a lot but here let us publicly profess on the podcast and here on your anniversary, what an amazing, incredible gift you gave us by demonstrating what a healthy marriage and relationship look like. Yes, there were ups. Yes, there were downs. Yes, there have been struggle moments and difficult times, but there has also been one common thing through all of the years I’ve gotten to observe your marriage, and certainly Kay as well, and that is the laughter. You guys have so much fun together and for those of you listening and know our parents, you know that they have a lot of fun together and it doesn’t mean they aren’t serious or don’t deal with serious things, but they always find time to laugh and smile and kid and joke together. It’s one of the things that we think has kept their fabric together all these years.

Kay:

Now taking maybe laughter from outside of our parents and into a scientific effect, laughing alongside another person actually creates chemical bonds inside your brain that help you to feel like you’re relating more to that person. It’s one of the reasons that speakers use humor in their talks because humor is a way to get people to trust you when you have a short amount of time to gain their trust. So, you can think or just imagine how the compounding consistency of giggling and laughing and finding fun in a marriage could lead to serious happiness and longevity.

Shi:

One of the perks about humor is that everybody has a style, and everybody has a different take on it. So, if we had two folks together who didn’t agree on what was funny, that can create a lot of tension, honestly, and be difficult. If one partner is laughing at the other and that’s not an agreed-upon exchange of humor that can be really hurtful and harmful to a relationship. But the style of humor that our parents share is really silly.

Kay:

Very silly.

Shi:

It’s very giggly and they love to just laugh at the absurdity of life and of circumstances and of each other. If you know our dad, he is probably the fuel behind most of the laughter. He loves to have fun, be frivolous, be silly. He also works his a** off and is an extremely hard worker who’s carried our family for many, many years. But he is just a loving guy who likes to be out there, who sees the fun in life and the games in life. And of course, that’s one of the things that attracted our mom to him 42 and a half years ago because that’s how long they’ve known each other.

Kay:

Yes. Our parents have one of those fantastic love stories that as a child, I imagined in like the 1970s sepia movie tone. They met when our mom was just 17, and our dad was 21 and they fell in love. Our mom was so afraid of the depth of love she felt for our father she broke it off with him within a few days. Two weeks later they found each other on a mountainside randomly and ran to each other and did not separate from that point. Got engaged the day after that running on the mountain situation, were married six months later and here we are 42 years in and they’re still laughing like the teenagers they were when they met.

Shi:

They have pretty funny stories about Jack in the Box on their wedding night. 26 bucks in their pocket, driving their little…

Kay:

Volkswagen

Shi:

Volkswagen to San Francisco for a honeymoon. So, mom and dad, 42 later happy anniversary, we love you so much and we celebrate you today.

Kay:

As a reminder, their best advice for marriage is to laugh and laugh a lot.

Shi:

Alright, that brings us to the quest today. It is a laughter quest. Laugh with a loved one today, engage in a funny video together, read some silly jokes or have a fun and light conversation. But whatever it is, try to get yourself to get some of those belly laughs in because it’s good for you scientifically and it feels good emotionally. If you’re looking for a bonus quest head over to any of our social media pages and help us wish our mom and dad a very happy anniversary of 42 years wedded together. Are you ready? Say it with us now.

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!