Getting to the end of this little blog journey through my Top 10 List for Parents of Adult Children …

Point #2 is Laugh.

Simple, right?

Not so simple from my experience …

One of the very first things to go when parents and adult kids start to tangle is our sense of humor.

Rather than laughing at the ridiculousness of our arguments, we clamp down.

We get defensive.

We get hurt, so we get serious.

Unfortunately, this has a multiplying effect on our angst.

Try this next time you find yourself in a brawl of sorts with your adult children, or with your parents:

Laugh.

At yourself.

Make a self-deprecating joke to lighten the mood.

Shake your head and grin at your OWN ridiculousness.

Agree with your adult child about your behavior and giggle at it.

And when you do this, you may just find the momentum shifting …

For, as the great German theologian Karl Barth said:

"Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God."

Amen, Karl Barth, amen.