Triple Threat

Triple Threat parenting triplets in the Capital District

The hope in humor

Laughter and joking around is plentiful in the Steuer household

Laughter is the best medicine (according to Milton Berle). I love the different types of humor Olivia, Benjamin and Rebecca enjoy. Just like they are three different people, they have three very different senses of humor. Hearing my kids laugh gives me the feeling like I gave them a gift that they really enjoy and will use for the rest of their lives. They will also be able to share this gift with so many people.

Benjamin has a really dry sense of humor that reminds me of my father. He tells “dad jokes” and can keep a straight face even as he delivers a hysterical punchline. Ben can be a little over the top sometimes, and we are tasked with teaching him to use decorum in his humor. There is also a very important part of helping children find humor: making sure other people are not uncomfortable or the subject of jokes.

When I look at my son, I can see so much of my dad. Ben only got to meet him a few times before he died. And just like magic, his humor lives on. I can’t imagine what kind of jokes Ben will tell his own children.

I can’t always tell what will make Rebecca laugh. There are plenty of attempts made on my part to make her laugh, but I’m just mom. I hear her laughing in her room or at the news. Rebecca’s eye rolls are epic. The eye rolls are an exchange for laughter, I think. Being 13 is one of those things that I’m glad she only has to live through once (unless, of course, she has a daughter). Everything that Harlan and I know next to nothing about is funny, and if we ask for an explanation we get her eye roll and a “you wouldn’t get it.” As long as she isn’t being mean, she can laugh all she wants. A great way to get her to laugh is to play Cards Against Humanity. She will roll her eyes and laugh at the same time. I will count that as a win.

Olivia is in a class all her own. She will chuckle. She will smile and nod. Her eye rolls are ever present. She does very well with riddles. I can see her struggle with deciphering humor sometimes, and that is okay. Olivia is a fun-loving kid who will tell jokes and laugh and keep us in stitches. I wish

by Jennifer Steuer

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I got to hear her giggle a little more often.

As I grew up, I knew my family was a little different. We laughed at just about everything. There were lots of times that events, situations or problems were turned and flipped to be funny. My brothers, my sister and my mom could make almost anything funny because it made things easier to deal with. When times were hard and dinners of elbow macaroni with butter with a veggie were frequent, we kids got a kick out of describing the meal in restaurant style with lots of embellishing. When we didn’t have cable television; we watched movies we had on VHS. According to my siblings, we became connoisseurs of movies no one would want to watch more than once. When my youngest brother became a non-verbal quadriplegic, he was not able to tell any more jokes, but he could sure laugh.

I do not care for practical jokes or the kinds of jokes that hurt others physically or emotionally. I get no enjoyment out of watching a marginalized group on the receiving end of perceived humor. I cannot fathom how people get entertainment value out of making fun of people based on race,

The Steuer triplets all have their own individual sense of humor.

religion, physical/mental abilities, gender or sexuality.

Proverbs suggest that laughter is the best medicine (Proverbs 17:22). So, somewhere between Proverbs and Milton Berle, we have learned that laughter can help us feel better about our lives or situations. I deliberately put myself in situations where I can laugh and laugh. My dear friends, my mom and so many times my sweet children make me laugh. My love, Harlan, is my best friend. We share a similar sense of humor and often think of or go to say something just as the other is about to do the same. In our home there will always be laughter and levity.

Jennifer Steuer is an Albany mom whose busy household includes her husband, Harlan, and 13-year-old triplets Olivia, Benjamin and Rebecca. Follow her on Instagram: jennifersteuer.

Happy Labor Day

from the staff at NowFamily GENERATIONS TOGETHER CAPITAL DISTRICT