Sarcasm is a form of humor used by many comedians and regular people. It takes a certain skill to deliver it properly, but even if it isn't delivered properly, it can still be funny. My father basically trained my brothers and me in the art of sarcasm. We grew up around it and grew to use it in our daily lives.

There was never a spare moment when someone wasn't cracking a joke in my parent's household. I grew up hearing that laughter is the best medicine and that making someone smile or laugh is a great way to make them feel better. I try to make it my goal to make someone laugh or at least smile every day, especially while I'm working. Many of the people I work with or have worked with don't smile as often, so I do my best to make them smile or laugh. I might use a funny accent while trying to say certain words or I might just scream like a velociraptor when they've frustrated me (probably because their jokes were better or well-timed).

The thing I miss most about my parents having moved away is that I don't get to see them much anymore (unless it's over FaceTime or Skype). I don't get to be in the room when something funny happens and laugh with them. I hear about the joke or funny thing and laugh after the fact. The greatest weapon I've found in getting someone to laugh is to find the stupidest card you can and write something funny in there that means something to the both of you. (For example, my brother calls my sister and I "peasants" because he thinks he's above us or something.) Whenever I talk to my brother, he'll always say "hi Rose" in this deep, depressing voice. I'll end up deepening my voice to say "hi Chris" in that same depressing voice he used. The last time we spoke I called him Eeyore because that's exactly who he sounded like.

Memories are something else to make someone laugh. If you made a good joke that was funny a long time ago with someone, it's likely that when you bring it up with that person again, they will laugh all over remembering the joke. For example, when my brothers and I used to live with our sister (we were all in high school), my sister would put her hair up in a bun almost on the top of her head. I don't know what it was, but my brother Chris for whatever reason did not see it as a bun this day, but rather as an old-school joystick. He decided to grab her bun, somewhat gently, and move it around on her head like it was a joystick while making car sounds. Whenever anyone of us brings that story up, Chris will almost automatically go to Nicole's head and go "joystick?" Nicole will scurry away to avoid the tugging of her bun.

October is National Sarcasm Awareness Month, so make some memories and make someone laugh.