GSAYW
“Does he make you laugh?”
This was always my mom’s first question when I told her I was dating someone new or had just finished a first date with a guy who I thought was so totally dreamy. When she first started asking me this, I would just roll my eyes and say “of course, mom!” even if it wasn’t completely true. Why should she care about such a silly thing when I had just gone on a date with the hottest guy. ever. Didn’t she want to know if he kissed me good night or just gave me a hug? Didn’t she wonder what I wore or what his car looked like?
I was a newly turned twenty one-year-old and it was a few months before I would even meet my now husband that I actually got it: does he make me laugh? Do I wish that conversations with him would go on forever? Does he make me feel important and good about myself? Does he get me?
There were a few dates between the time I “got it” and the time I met the man who would be my husband. Those dates were short and one time occurences. Bottom line, they did NOT make me laugh. They made me yawn; or they yawned and made me wonder if I was even interesting enough to be even out with them; or they were more interested in the waitress in the short skirt than me.
The thing I finally realized, and not a moment too soon: looks fade, but a stellar personality is forever. When we’re both old, wrinkly, and wearing depends, I still want to be able to laugh!
So, does he make me laugh? My mom asked me this again after my first date with the man who I would marry in a few years, and I was finally, truthfully able to answer, “Yes, you wouldn’t believe how funny he is.”
I like to think I got the best of both worlds.
Lesson Learned: If he doesn’t make you laugh, he ain’t worth your time.
