April Fools’ Day has different origin stories – which fits this day perfectly – but most of us use April 1 as a time to pull pranks and jokes on each other.

Our family’s favorite April Fools’ Day joke was one my brother played on my then-2-year-old son.

Nick was sitting on my Mom’s kitchen counter and my brother noticed he was wearing tennis shoes with Velcro laces.

Knowing it was April Fools’ Day, Jeff looked down at Nick’s shoes and said “Your shoes are untied.”

Nick looked down and his uncle said “April Fools’!”

We all laughed so Jeff said it again. Nick looked down again. This back-and-forth went on for probably 10 minutes with Nick innocently looking down at his shoes every single time, and teenage Jeff and my youngest sister Donna wondering when the child would catch on.

Perhaps this was a foreshadowing of what was ahead as Nick did graduate from Texas A&M University.

The best April Fools’ Day pranks come from people who aren’t known for telling jokes or doing silly things.

Such is the case with our middle son.

Stephen has a good sense of humor but he’s our serious child. He’s never been a joke teller or one who participated in the silly games and pranks other kids did.

But he pulled off the perfect prank when he was in college.

Stephen had been offered a summer internship with a national accounting firm, but he wasn’t sure which location they’d send him to.

One afternoon, he called.

“Mom, the firm made me an offer. There’s a catch though,” he said and my heart stopped.

He explained that the firm was going to send him to a Third World country in the Middle East. They couldn’t guarantee his safety but they were going to give him extra money because of the risks he’d have to take.

I asked him a lot of questions about what kind of security measures they were promising, did he know which country and if he was sure he wanted to take a chance with his life for money.

“Yes, I’ve thought about all of that,” he said. “There’s only one thing that concerns me.”

I held my breath.

“That you actually fell for this. April Fools’,” he said with a laugh.

He had me hook, line and sinker.

I told him to call his dad and play the same prank on him.

“Oh he’s too smart to fall for this joke,” Stephen said.

Intelligence had nothing to do with whether or not his dad would fall for the joke, I told him, ignoring his implication that I was the dumb one.

Stephen took up the challenge and called his dad who fell for it just like I did.

That’s why April Fools’ jokes are best carried out by those who don’t normally joke unlike my dad who loved telling jokes and telling tall tales.

If he’d tried pulling an April Fools’ joke on us, we’d have instantly suspected he was pulling our leg.

When Dad passed away, my brother Jeff and I were alone in the emergency room. Jeff looked at the clock, and said quietly that Dad died on April Fools’ Day.

Neither one of us realized the date before that moment, but we both agreed it was fitting that our father, the one who loved jokes and told a joke better than anyone else, passed away on this day.

Remembering to laugh in the midst of sorrow was the last lesson my dad taught me. So Happy April Fools’ Day, Dad. Thanks for reminding me that life has its share of smiles as well as its share of tears.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.