March 30 circa my youth

Look at that laughing face.  That was pretty much how I remember my mom, either laughing or frowning at me.  Mostly, I remember her frowning.  We didn't have the greatest relationship but we did have our moments when we used to team up, become partners in crime.  Since my mom has gone, I remember more of those moments and less of the ones where she was frowning. 

Most families have their own family rituals and important dates in their history.  I have to tell you that my childhood home was filled with laughter.   Humour, it turns out, is a skill, like any other skill, and the more you practice, the more it is developed.  In our house, we played practical jokes on each other and teased each other mercilessly.  We loved it !!  My dad had the best sense of humour of anyone I know.  April Fool's Day was a big day in our house, maybe even bigger than Christmas. 

My dad was a master and very creative.  At about the time I was 7, my mom and I realized that we had no chance against my dad unless we teamed up.  We were quite the team.  All of us had the same strategy.  We would throw a few softball pranks early in the day trying to get the others to think that was our best game and make them unsuspecting and then we would throw off our biggest prank.  We planned, we plotted, and we laughed. 

March 30 was a very stressful day in my youth.  I was always worried if my mom and I had what it took to prank my dad.  Would we prevail?  Would we pull off an April Fool's upset and dethrone my dad?  Well, I worried and stressed a lot.  In the end, I don't think we ever out-did my dad.  He was the master.  But, in the journey, my mom and I had a lot of laughs and we worked together as a team.  I miss those days terribly.  It turns out, April Fool's Day was a lot like life, it is not the destination that is the greatest part, it is the journey itself.  I will be forever grateful and blessed to have grown up with my mom and dad.  They may not have been perfect parents, but they were perfect for me. 

These days, I have a new partner in crime, and it is only grandpa that we have to thwart on April Fool's Day.  Although he is starting to participate, he is late to the April Fool's Day shenanigans.  The good news it that March 30 is no longer a stressful day for me.  Ollie and I have already got our plan for Monday.  Game on, grandpa !! 

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