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At the urging of my wise and humorous husband, Lee, and to deflect or distract from minor pains or hurts, our family always played “Which is Worse?” For instance, during a boy-cousins’ sleepover with grandpa, a 9-year-old grandson can be found panicking in the bathroom nursing a bloody nose and lamenting, “Grandpa, I’m hemorrhaging!” You cuddle the victim and give needed first aid. To settle things down even more, you demonstrate and initiate a round of “Which is Worse?”

When Abraham Lincoln laughed at something during the Civil War, he is rumored to have been criticized for it, and in response he said, “If I didn’t laugh, I would surely cry.” Those of you who are caregivers, either professionally or for a loved one, know that can be true of us, too. If we only see the serious side of things, what is happening can sometimes seem unbearable.